Over 400 beggars rounded up in capital

Police launched massive campaign against professional alm-seekers and their handlers

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad police have sped up their campaign against professional beggars and arrested 411 professional beggars, including 61 handlers, during the month of June.

Following orders of IGP Islamabad Qazi Jamilur Rehman, under supervision of SSP (Operations) Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer, Islamabad Police had launched a massive campaign against professional alm-seekers and their handlers to curb this menace from the capital.

Police teams under supervision of Additional SP (Islamabad) Farhat Abbass Kazmi will continue to work till this menace is eliminated from the capital.

Kazmi said that they got the information through safe city cameras and other intelligence sources about a network of beggars’ handlers and got the information about their locations and kept them under the watch.

Read Capital police round up 41 beggars

He said that these arrested persons had divided different residential areas, signals and main chowks for begging activities.

“They also used to pick up men, women and children from Katchi Abadies and drop them at various signals, residential areas and chowks in a mazda van, taxi and motorcycles,” he added.

He maintained the handlers used to get a share from the beggars and support them in case of any issue. Police have registered cases against all the suspects under Act relating to human smuggling and sections for involving women and children in begging activities, he added.

SSP (Operations) Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer directed all zonal SPs to intensify the campaign and continue crackdown against this menace in their respective areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2021.