Police to launch crackdown on ‘begging mafia’

The Delhi Police are all set to launch a crackdown on the ‘begging mafia’, despite the state government claiming that no such racket is operating in the national Capital.

The operation will be led by the Crime Branch, which had earlier worked on initiatives like reuniting missing children with their parents, a senior police official said.

The official said not much can be disclosed about the operation “at this point”, but the police have got some crucial leads and teams were working on that.

However, a senior Delhi government official said several studies were conducted to ascertain the veracity of claims about the existence of begging mafia in the city, but no conclusive evidence was found as of now.  It was during the Commonwealth Games in 2010 that a special team was formed by the Provisions and Logistics unit of the Delhi Police to relocate beggars from certain areas.

Officials involved in the operation had first sniffed begging rackets run by criminal elements in the city. However, there was no follow-up action to track them down, the official said.