Alms Economy: Indore’s affluent beggars unmasked in million-rupee rackets

Indore: The recent discovery of Mangilal, the "crorepati" beggar with assets spanning multiple properties and a private driver, sent shockwaves through Indore. However, investigators from the Women and Child Development (WCD) department and local NGOs revealed that Mangilal was not an isolated case.In India's cleanest city, the act of seeking alms evolved into a sophisticated, high-revenue industry where "beggars" often possessed more wealth than the average middle-class professional.One of the most staggering cases uncovered was that of Indra Bai. Rescued from the busy Luv Kush Square in early 2024, she was found to earn a "neat" Rs 2.5 lakh in just 6 weeks. Indra Bai's operation was built on a cold, hard strategy. She positioned her 5 children, aged between 2 and 10, at the Luv Kush intersection—the primary transit point for pilgrims heading to the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain.Following the construction of the Mahakal Lok corridor, Indra Bai capitalised on this, knowing that pilgrims are emotionally inclined to give generously. Upon her arrest, officials were stunned to learn she owned a 2-storey house and agricultural land near Kota, Rajasthan, and used a smartphone worth Rs 20,000, while her husband moved around on a motorcycle.The high-income trend continued at religious sites. In Dec 2024, a 60-year-old woman named Shakuntala Bai was rescued outside a Shani Temple. Searching her, the team found nearly Rs 75,000 in cash—an amount she claimed to earn in just 1 week. The haul included hundreds of small-denomination notes alongside Rs 500 bills.Similarly, Kalabai, rescued from the Bada Ganapati Temple, revealed a portfolio that would rival many investors. She lived in a house near the airport, owned an additional plot in Vyas Nagar, and possessed 10 bighas of fertile land in Ujjain's Unhel Tehsil. Despite this, she regularly earned Rs 500 to Rs 600 daily through alms. Meanwhile, at the historic Rajwada, Poonam Verma—who turned to begging after losing a leg in a truck accident—reported daily earnings between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500.These stories were merely snapshots of a massive underground economy. The Indore district administration, which was declared the country's first 'Beggar-Free City' in July last year, also highlighted the scale of the issue.Data collected by local NGOs working with the Indore Municipal Corporation suggested there were roughly 7,000 beggars across 38 major squares in the city. Alarmingly, 50% of them were children. "A rough estimate suggested that collectively, they generate over Rs 20 crore annually," said Rupali Jain, a volunteer with Sanstha Pravesh. The sheer profitability of the practice made it difficult to eradicate beggars from Indore, but the local administration launched a year-long drive in 2024-25 that resulted in counselling around 4,500 beggars and sending about 1,600 beggars to the Sewadham Ashram in Ujjain. As many as 172 children were given admission to schools, while around 800 beggars were rehabilitated.The then Collector Asheesh Singh declared Indore a 'Beggar-Free City' in July last year. With this, he issued an order under Section 163 of BNS, prohibiting both begging, giving alms and even buying goods from minors.Indore's success garnered significant attention, with teams from the World Bank and the Central Social Welfare Department visiting the city to study its beggar eradication strategies. Besides, the Union govt also chose Indore to hold a conference under the SMILE (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) Project on making the country beggar-free by following Indore's model."Like the ODF tag, once a city gets it, the administration ensures it maintains the status. Similarly, our teams took action after Indore was declared a beggar-free city to ensure that begging is completely banned here," Indore Collector Shivam Verma told TOI.