Two Corporation councillors and two police personnel besides a few Corporation staff were the only people to turn up for an awareness class on the Travancore begging law organised by the District Legal Services Authority in association with the City Corporation here on Sunday afternoon.
The class was organised for people’s representatives, police personnel, and those running places of worship after it was found that there was very little awareness among them of the anti-begging law.
Notices had been given in all 100 wards of the city Corporation, but only Kulathoor ward councillor Sivadutt and Puthampally councillor Noor Jehan, both members of the Welfare standing committee, were present.
Neyyattinkara Judicial First Class Magistrate John Varghese led the awareness session. He took the audience through the context of the various anti-begging Acts in place, including the Travancore Begging (Prevention) Act, 1945, and what the Travancore Act was. The need to regulate begging arose when it became an organised activity, with the involvement of groups or mafias who coerced others into begging or even used them for other illegal activities, he said.
Mostly rehab
Though the Act dealt with prevention of begging, most of it related to rehabilitation of beggars, with only a few sections related to punishment.
He said Section 3 of the Act prescribed imprisonment of one month for begging, and Section 14 made it a cognisable offense. If someone was forced into begging or abducted for the purpose, then it was a crime under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code. Begging also involved exploitation and treatment similar to that of slavery, and hence those accused of this could be charged under Sections 370 and 371. It was the the duty of the police to ascertain whether such crimes had occurred and register cases accordingly, he said.
He also spoke about some other laws, including Section 133 of the Cr.PC which given the District Magisrate the right to remove those who are seen as a public nuisance.
Law, Mr. Varghese reminded the gathering, could be used to both hurt and help. There were provisions in laws that could be used to help people involved in begging and their rehabilitation.
He also called for concerted efforts on the part of the public, including people’s representatives and officials, to work for their welfare.
Mr. Varghese also urged the Corporation councillors to work for notifying other institutions as work houses where those fit enough to work could be put up and trained in some skills to aid their rehabilitation. At present, only the Sree Chitra Home has been notified by the Corporation.
The absence of a permanent vehicle for the Corporation squad to check begging was highlighted at the programme.
