Bhopal cracks down on begging: First FIR filed against almsgiver, beggar

Bhopal has taken a significant step in cracking down on begging, with the first FIR filed against both a beggar and an almsgiver, at MP Nagar police station in the city on Wednesday, a police officer said on Thursday.

This move comes after the Bhopal District Collector issued an order banning begging and giving alms in the city on February 3.

According to MP Nagar police station in-charge, Jaihind Sharma, a team was formed to monitor beggars in the city. On February 12, a member of this team spotted a person giving alms to a beggar at Board Office Square. Although they escaped, the complainant, Mohan Soni, reported the incident to the police, leading to the registration of an FIR.

MP Nagar police station in-charge, Jaihind Sharma told ANI, "On February 3, Bhopal Collector issued an order prohibiting begging in the city and action to be taken against both almsgivers and beggars. In this episode, a team was formed by the collector to monitor beggars in the city and the complainant, Mohan Soni is part of the team. Yesterday, Soni reached the Board office and saw that a person was giving alms to a beggar."

"Thereafter when Soni tried to catch them, they ran away from the scene. Following this, Soni approached the MP Nagar police station to register an FIR against them. Based on the complaint, we have registered a case into the matter and started a search operation," the officer said.

With the help of the vehicle registration number, the police will reach the person concerned and will take him into custody, he added.

Earlier this month on February 3, Bhopal Collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh issued the prohibitory order under section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sahita (BNSS) 2023. The section provision reads "Power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger."

The order also stated that legal action would be taken against the person found violating the instructions issued under section 223 of BNSS, 2023.

This move is part of a larger effort to make Bhopal a beggar-free city, following in the footsteps of Indore, which banned begging from January 1, 2025. It's worth noting that the central government has initiated a pilot project to create beggar-free cities across 10 major urban centres, including Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

Authorities in Indore have already conducted surveys, revealing that some beggars own permanent houses or have children with stable jobs, prompting the administration to take action against anti-social activities.