BHOPAL: An elderly leprosy-affected man who has begged for years at Indore’s famed night food lane, Sarafa Chowpati, has turned out to be a crorepati, owning multiple houses, vehicles and running a thriving money-lending business.
The man, Mangilal, who is often seen moving through the crowded lane on a hand-pushed wooden board cart, reportedly owns three houses, including a three-storeyed building, a Swift Dzire car and three auto-rickshaws operated on rent.
Officials said he pooled his earnings from begging and vehicle rentals to lend money to small traders and roadside hawkers.
The revelation comes a year after Indore, the country’s cleanest city, banned begging from January 1, 2025, and announced a reward of Rs 1,000 for anyone alerting authorities about beggars.
As part of the begging eradication campaign, an official team traced and rescued Mangilal from Sarafa Chowpati.
“Acting on inputs, the beggar rescue team went to Sarafa on Saturday night and found two kids selling balloons, then it spotted Mangilal, who was moving in the crowded area on the hand-pushed trolley cart," women and child development department project officer Dinesh Mishra said on Monday.
"We had gone there searching for him in the past too, but he had managed to leave. He was rescued and questioned, after which the entire startling matter came to light,” he said.
“When questioned by our begging eradication team, Mangilal, who is aged around 60 to 65, said that though he lived with parents in a house allotted to him for being a physically challenged leprosy affected man by authorities near the Kustha Rogi Ashram in the city’s Alwasa area, he has two more houses, one of which is three-storeyed, while the other is a single-storeyed one, both in prime areas of the city," said Mishra who is the nodal officer of Indore’s begging eradication campaign.
"He owned three auto-rickshaws, which he operated on rent, besides having a Swift Dzire car,” he added.
The revelations did not end there. Officials said Mangilal, who has certified physical disabilities, has been running a money-lending business.
“He has been pooling the earnings from running the auto-rickshaws and begging to lend money to small traders and roadside hawkers. He has been earning Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 daily as interest from the Rs 4 to 5 lakh principal sum lent presently to his small debtors," Mishra informed.
"He has been earning Rs 400 to Rs 500 daily by begging, though he claims that he doesn’t seek alms, it’s the food-lovers in Sarafa who give him money seeing his condition. We’ve shifted him to the beggars’ rehabilitation home and the matter has been referred in the form of a case to the Indore district collector,” he added.
Investigations have shown that while he allegedly travels in the city by car, he parks it at a safe distance from Sarafa in the evening and then uses his hand-pushed wooden board cart to move through the crowded night food lane, which is packed with visitors, especially on weekends.
Mangilal, however, denied that he begs. “I certainly go there, but don’t beg, it’s the people who put the money in my pocket or throw coins or notes on the wooden board. But from today, I will stop going there,” he said on Monday.
While Mangilal told officials that he had been going to Sarafa since 2021, the ongoing probe suggests that he has allegedly been visiting the lane every evening for the last seven to eight years.
Confirming that the matter has come to his notice, Indore district collector Shivam Verma said, “Begging is banned, including giving and seeking alms or money, and is illegal in Indore. The concerned matter is being investigated and based on the probe findings, appropriate legal action will be initiated.”