E-Paper
Police launch crackdown against begging, 65 rounded up in Ludhiana
Have identified 1,170 beggars at 19 busy spots in the city under the first phase of the drive
The city police on Saturday launched a major drive against begging and rounded up around 65 beggars from various locations.
The police have identified 1,170 beggars at 19 busy spots in the city under the first phase of the drive. Of these, the maximum - 250 - were found operating near the railway station, 200 near Durga Mata Mandir near the Jagraon bridge, and 150 near Krishna Mandir in Model Town.
During the first round of the drive, teams of various police stations caught the beggars from outside shops and at intersections and even chased a few on the roads before taking them to the police lines for counselling. They were later released with a warning.
Ahead of the police action, a large number of beggars fled from outside Durga Mata Mandir. By afternoon, no beggar was seen outside Krishna Mandir, Durga Mata Mandir in BRS Nagar and Nav Durga Mata Mandir in Sarabha Nagar.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, headquarters) Deepak Pareek said, “It is a multi-pronged exercise that will be continued in the coming days.”
The ADCP said the police will also check if the beggars have a criminal record. The police have found many beggars at the railway station, bus stand and vegetable market near Jalandhar Bypass involved in theft, pickpocketing and snatching.
BAN ON BEGGING
It was on January 6 when police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal had imposed a ban on begging under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Though such drives have been conducted by the police and municipal corporation (MC) earlier as well, but a large number of beggars could still be seen at almost all the main traffic intersections and religious places in the city.
