How an Indore beggar became crorepati, owns 3 homes, 3 auto-rickshaws, Swift Dzire
Mangilal, who suffers from leprosy, is a crorepati who has three houses in his name, including a government-allotted house, three autorickshaws and a Maruti Suzuki Dzire car. He does not ask for alms, he accepts them with understanding. There is an interesting angle to how he became so rich.
Mangilal, a beggar in Indore, owns a Swift Dzire car, 3 autorickshaws and 3 houses
A man who looks like a beggar, sitting on an iron wheeled cart and pushing himself by inserting his hands into the shoes, does not ask for alms. However, many passersby give coins and banknotes to show their support for the physically disabled man. Mangilal is a crorepati who has three houses in his name, including a government-allotted house, three autorickshaws and a Maruti Suzuki Dzire car.
How did the authorities find out about Mangilal?
During the anti-begging campaign in Indore, an ongoing campaign to rid the city of beggars, the Women and Child Development Department came to know about Mangilal when the team picked her up last Saturday night. The team arrived at the scene after receiving a report that a leprosy patient was begging every day in Sarafa and were surprised to learn his true financial situation.
How did a beggar earn so much?
Mangilal had been making veiled appeals to people for years and never asked for alms like ordinary beggars. Sitting in his poor car on the side of the road would increase the sympathy of the people who gave it to him willingly. Surprisingly, his daily earnings from these deliberate offers were earning him between Rs 400 to Rs 500. But that wasn’t the source of all his earnings.
During interrogation, Mangilal admitted that the money he earned from begging was not spent to earn his living but was invested in Indore’s famous Sarafa market.
How does Mangilal earn so much money?
He lent this money to market traders for a day or even a week, and received interest from them every evening, which he collected himself. According to officials’ estimates, he lent Rs 4-5 lakh with daily earnings of Rs 1,000 to 2,000 including interest.
Mangilal’s earnings also come from the money he earns from renting his rickshaws and Maruti Suzuki DZire car. Apart from this, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), he got a one-bedroom, lounge, kitchen (1BHK) unit due to his disability, despite already owning more than one property.
The Department of Women and Child Development has now shifted Mangilal to Sevadham Ashram in Ujjain, said Dinesh Mishra, officer of the ministry and nodal officer of the rescue operation. Authorities are investigating his bank accounts and properties and will also question merchants who borrowed money from him.
