Lahore police claimed to have arrested 3510 professional beggars including 3351 males and 146 females under anti-beggary act and registered 3452 cases against them during the last ten months in the provincial capital.
Accordingly, City Division Police arrested 739 beggars, Cantt Division 533, Civil Lines Division Police 419, Iqbal Town Division 534, Sadr Division 694, whereas, Model Town Division Police arrested 591 beggars during the crackdown.
The city traffic police also moved to register more than 350 cases against beggars disturbing citizens and the flow of traffic on roads junctions and traffic signals. The beggars were taken into custody in collaboration with Child Protection Welfare Bureau and other departments concerned.
The Lahore Police during the current month (October) arrested 83 professional beggars from different areas of the city and handed over the child beggars to Child Protection & Welfare Bureau, whereas, addict beggars had been admitted to rehabilitation wards of hospitals concerned.
On the directions of Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Additional IG Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, special teams of Lahore Police had been initiating crackdown on regular basis against habitual, professional and criminal record holder beggars to free the provincial capital from this nuisance.
CCPO Lahore Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said that all divisional SPs had been given special task to arrest professional, fake disabled and habitual beggars as most of them had criminal background but feign as beggars.
The personnel of traffic police have been assisting the special teams of Lahore police to curb the beggary and organized criminal gangs.
The CCPO Lahore has appealed to the general public to refrain from giving money to the professional and non-deserving beggars as most of them were habitual and involved in crimes.
