Authorities in Indore reported that a woman named Indra Bai exploited her own children to beg. So far, she has accumulated multiple assets including a plot of land, a two storeyed house, a motorcycle, a smartphone worth Rs 20,000 and Rs 2.5 lakh in just six weeks. This habitual offender has faced charges for forcing her children into begging and has been kept in remand. Her daughter has been taken under the care of an NGO, while the remaining four children, aged 10, 8, 3, and 2 were also used by her in the crime. Indra cleverly positioned her older kids at Luv Kush Square in Indore, a busy transit point to Ujjain. She took advantage of pilgrims who were going to the Mahakal temple in Ujjain and people were less likely to turn away those seeking financial help.
While Indra and her seven year old daughter were taken away from the streets as part of the NGO’s collaboration with the Indore Municipal Corporation to rehabilitate beggars, she justified her actions to volunteers from the NGO Sanstha Pravesh and said, “Rather than starving, we chose to beg. It is better than stealing.” The NGO, actively involved in collecting data on beggars, has identified approximately 7,000 individuals, while 50 percent of them were children and were found at 38 major squares in Indore.
According to Rupali Jain, a volunteer from the NGO, a rough estimate suggests that these beggars, including children, generate over Rs 20 Crore annually. In a surprising revelation, Indra Bai shared that her earnings reached new heights after Mahakal Lok was opened to the public. As per reports, even officials claimed that the footfall of devotees rose from around 2,500 per day before Mahakal Lok was built to an impressive 1.75 lakh per day.
Indra’s day to day routine came to an end on February 9 when she was caught red handed with her daughter. On the other hand, her husband and two older children managed to escape. Officials discovered Rs 19,600 with Indra, while her daughter had collected Rs 600. Shockingly, Indra disclosed that she has so far collected Rs 2.5 lakh in just 45 days before she was arrested. She further revealed that the family owns a two storeyed house and agricultural land near Kota, Rajasthan, owns a smartphone and while her husband travels around the city in a motorcycle, all acquired through begging.
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