Giving alms to beggars in Indore will now attract FIR | Indore News – Times of India

Buying products from children is also a crime in Indore.

INDORE: The Indore district administration, which in July this year announced that giving alms or buying products from children is a crime, has now warned that FIRs will be registered from Jan 1, 2025, against those giving alms to elders as well.
This move is part of the administration’s mission to make Indore a beggar-free city, collector Asheesh Singh said, adding that an awareness campaign will be conducted this month to educate the public about the ‘negative impacts of giving alms’.
“From Jan 1 onwards, we will take strict action against those who continue to give alms,” he warned. An order under section 163 of BNS will be released, prohibiting alms to minors and elders, he said.
Indore is one of 10 cities selected by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment for a pilot project to eliminate begging. By discouraging almsgiving, the administration hopes to break the cycle of begging and provide sustainable solutions for those in need. “We have already taken significant steps to address the issue, including identification and rehabilitation of those involved in begging,” he said.
In July this year, the district administration issued an order under Section 163 of BNS, prohibiting both beggary and buying goods from minors. The order expired on Sept 14, and the teams working in the field failed to nab or book any person giving alms to minors. During this period, over 35 children involved in begging were rescued by WCD teams and placed in govt shelters.
The need for tougher action was felt after an elderly woman, who was rescued by WCD while begging outside a temple last week, was found to have got around Rs 75,000 in alms in a week. The 60-year-old woman has been given shelter in Sevadham Ashram of Ujjain and her family members are being approached.
The crackdown on begging began in Feb this year after a woman was caught at Luvkush Square for forcing her children into begging. Authorities were shocked to discover that she had accumulated enough through this illegal activity to own a plot of land, a two-storey house, a motorcycle, and a smartphone. According to officials, she revealed she had made around Rs 2.5 lakh through begging in just six months.