Special teams of Lahore Police continue crackdown on beggars

Lahore: On the directions of Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, special teams of Lahore Police have been initiating crackdown on regular basis against habitual, professional and criminal record holder beggars to free the provincial capital from this nuisance. Lahore Police in continuation of its crackdown against professional beggars have arrested as many as1115 professional beggars in ‘Anti Beggary Act’ and registered 968 cases against them during last four days at different Police Stations of the city. Accordingly City Division Police arrested 250 beggars, Cantt Division 146, Civil Lines Division Police 214, Iqbal Town Division 172, Sadar Division 182 whereas Model Town Division Police arrested 161 beggars during the crackdown. City Traffic police also moved to register 51 cases against beggars disturbing citizens and the flow of traffic on roads junctions and traffic signals. As many as 1115 beggars involved in begging were taken into custody in collaboration with Child Protection and Welfare Bureau as well as Social Welfare department. CCPO Lahore Ghulaam Mahmood Dogar has said that all the divisional SsP have been given special task to arrest professional, fake disable and habitual beggars as most of them have criminal background but feign as beggars. The personnel of traffic police and CIA have been assisting the special teams to curb professional beggary and organized criminal gangs. Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said the children involved in begging are being handed over to Child Protection and Welfare Bureau whereas drug addict beggars have been sent to Beggars Homes of Punjab government for rehabilitation purpose. CCPO Lahore has appealed the general public to refrain from giving money to these professional and non deserving beggars as most of them are habitual, involved in crimes.