Stern punishment must be meted out to those running the beggar racket that was unearthed recently in Bangalore, but which is a country-wide phenomenon. It appears that the gang had abducted children, maimed and then forced them into begging on the streets. Around 300 such children - a third of them are mere infants - have been rescued so far. It is likely that many more children remain in the clutches of such gangs running similar rackets all over the country. Police must redouble their efforts to rescue these children and nab the kingpins behind the business. The children were subjected to terrible abuse, even drugged. They were beaten if they didn’t bring in enough money at the end of the day. The prolonged abuse they were subjected to is sure to have left them severely scarred physically and emotionally. It is important therefore that the rehabilitation homes they have been taken to now provide them with a loving environment wherein they can heal.



The beggar mafia is an extremely powerful one. Its tentacles spread far and wide to include kidnappers, traffickers, goons, beggars, doctors and police. It presides over a business that is worth millions of rupees in the bigger cities. This mafia thrives on exploitation of children who are forced to beg and manipulation of the emotions of the general public. The mafia has no qualms about hacking the limbs of children or pouring acid into their eyes, so that they will evoke more public sympathy, drawing in more alms and thus more lucre for the kingpins. Begging mafias flourish because they have the support of local cops, who get a percentage of the daily pickings in return for the protection they provide the business. The government must break this nexus first if it is serious about protecting lakhs of children that are being trafficked into begging.



There is a way that the public can defeat the beggar mafias and bring to an end their abuse of children and that is by making the business unprofitable. We must stop giving money to beggars and instead provide them with food, medicines and shelter. Child beggars should be taken off the streets not as part of drives to beautify our cities, but as part of a larger programme to keep children safe, even as they are enabled to secure their futures.