KOZHIKODE: A beggar with assets of Rs 13 lakh! In a scene reminiscent of the Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Man with the Twisted Lip, where a businessman gets a lot of money by leading a double life as a beggar, 70-year-old Abdul Ghali was found recently near Kozhikode with deposits worth the amount, as well as Rs 80,000 in cash.
The wealth of Ghali, a beggar who belongs to Thoothukudi, came to light when people, who suspected that everything was not quite what it seemed, examined his baggage. Ghali was handed over to police. On reading reports about Ghali, his son, a software engineer in Chennai, got in touch with the authorities and on Saturday the beggar was handed over to relatives, police said.
Ghali was found near the Jamaat mosque in Kuttikatur town near Kozhikode last week. Seeing his plight, the mosque authorities gave him food and a place to sleep.
The next day, he told the officials that he wanted to visit a mosque in Mudukkal in Ernakulam.
People soon collected Rs 10,000 and even arranged a jeep for him to go to Ernakulam.
However, the beggar returned the same day, raising suspicion.
Residents of the area then examined his belongings and found documents relating to his wealth. Ghali said that he had amassed the money by begging for more than 30 years.
In 2004, Ghali had been taken into custody by Kerala police. He then had deposits of Rs 4.50 lakh, including Rs 1 lakh in Indira Vikas Patras.
Ghali was sent to Tamil Nadu with his wife, then a nurse, and son.
However, he returned to Kerala.
People in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode give alms of more than Rs 42 crore a year, says a 2005 study, adding that around 3,000 people are involved in begging in these cities.