The Chandigarh police on Friday arrested ‘an affluent beggar’ from a government guest house under the Prevention of Beggary Act.
Fifty-two-year-old Shankar Mehta said he had been begging all his life to pay for the latest gadgets and electronic accessories he owned, and hotels and resorts when on holiday.
Mehta, alias Mehto, had been staying at the guest house for the past two months and paid Rs.6,000 towards rent. At the time of arrest, the police recovered about Rs.3,000 and a mobile phone from Mehta. A search of his hotel room led to the recovery of a colour television, a VCD player and various electronic items.
He belongs to Raipur district, Madhya Pradesh. He told the police that he had left home as a child and since then, lived on money he made from begging. He has stayed in various cities in India.
