Mumbai beggar dies rich, leaves behind Rs 11.5 lakh fortune

Police inquiring about a beggar found dead by the railway tracks here stumbled upon a sackful of coins totalling Rs 1.75 lakh, certificates of fixed deposits of Rs 8.77 lakh and Rs 96,000 in bank savings accounts at his home, an official said on Monday.

Biradichand Pannaramji Azad (82), who hailed from Rajasthan, lived in a rundown tarpaulin-topped shanty near a drain between Govandi and Mankhurd stations on the Harbour corridor of the Central Railway's suburban network, the official said.

"We got a call on Friday night about a man lying by the tracks between Govandi and Mankhurd. People living in the vicinity identified him as a beggar who made regular trips on Harbour line suburban trains begging for alms. They showed us the way to his home," the Vashi railway police official said.

On going through his belongings as is routine to create a file in such accidental death cases, the police came across a sack with Re 1 and Rs 2 coins, some bank documents, his Aadhaar, PAN and senior citizen cards, he informed.

"He had kept coins in plastic bags and hidden it inside four containers kept in a barrel. The coins totalled Rs 1.75 lakh. He had FDs worth Rs 8.77 lakh in two banks apart from Rs 96,000 in savings accounts. The FDs' nominee is Azad's son Sukhdev, a resident of Ramgarh in Rajasthan," he said.

In all, he left behind nearly Rs 11.5 lakh in assets, the official said.

As per his ID cards, he was born on February 27, 1937 and was earlier a resident of Baiganwadi in Govandi's Shivaji Nagar area, the official added.

Efforts were on to contact his son through the Rajasthan police, he informed.