Cops arrest 3 ‘beggars’ in Indore district; Bajrang Dal leader says activists questioned them for residential proof

PTI, Jan 4, 2022, 4:11 PM IST

Three persons who were allegedly begging in a village in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh were arrested as a precautionary measure to prevent any ”disruption of the public peace”, police said on Tuesday. In videos being circulated on social media, some people are seen questioning the three beggars in Kachaliya village and asking them to show their identity proofs including Aadhaar cards. Bajrang Dal’s Indore unit coordinator Tannu Sharma claimed that the trio was intercepted by the right-wing activists as they had been seen in Kachalia village for the last many days. He claimed that the trio failed to show Aadhaar cards and couldn’t give a satisfactory reply when asked about their residential address. Chandravatiganj police station in-charge Mansharam Baghel, however, said that the police reached Kachalia village, 60 km from the Indore district headquarter after a villager informed them about the presence of the three suspicious men. ”They were brought to the police station. As per the government documents found with the three men, they are identified as Gyan Singh (26), Rakesh Bairagi (30) and Mohar Singh (33),” he said, adding that the trio hailed from Uttar Pradesh.

The trio keeps travelling from one state to another begging, he said. ”They were arrested as a precautionary measure under section 151 of the CrPC on the fear of disruption of the public peace,” he said.

According to Tannu Sharma, as the three ”suspicious” men were seen in Kachalia village for the last many days, they were caught by our (Bajrang Dal) activists and questioned.

”When the activists asked them to show their Aadhaar cards, they failed to do so. They also could not give satisfactory answers about their residential addresses,” he claimed.

Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesman Neelabh Shukla said it is the job of the police to catch suspected persons. ”Whether Bajrang Dal workers were given that right by the police in MP?” he asked. A 25-year-old street vendor of bangles had been beaten up in Indore city last August by a group of people who accused him of using a ”fake” name while selling bangles to women in a locality.