THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city police will be engaged in a special task from next week - putting an end to begging.Though a drive was launched a week ago, it ended the usual way - started with much enthusiasm, with no follow-up. But this time, the cops are in earnest. “We will start an intensive drive soon concentrating on the busy areas like bus stands and railway stations. Focus will be on places like Thampanoor and East Fort, where beggars are mostly found. Usually, we wind up our work after housing them in the rehabilitation centre. But this time, a follow-up will be done to check whether the rehabilitated persons are still there in the centre or have fled from there,” said City Police Commissioner T J Jose.According to the city police chief, the latest drive will be conducted on a daily basis and every day it would be ensured that the rehabilitated persons do not return to begging. All the police stations in the city limits will be engaged in the drive. The station house officer of each police station will monitor the task. However, the Commissioner ruled out the presence of an other state mafia behind the act of begging in the city. “We cannot reach such conclusions right now. There are beggars coming from the neighbouring states. Most of them arrive during the festival season and return once the season is over. It does not mean that there is a mafia,” he said. The drive, if it materialises in the desired way, will be a great solace for the city residents, particularly in the backdrop of the recent incident in which there was an attempt to abduct a three-and-a-half-year-old girl from Nalanchira. It was suspected that a begging mafia was behind the incident.Though a gang that came in an autorickshaw lured the girl by giving her candies, the attempt was defeated by the timely intervention of her elder sister.Peroorkada Circle Inspector B Jayachandran, who is leading the investigation into the incident, ruled out the chances of a begging mafia’s involvement. “From the elder sister of the girl, it is learnt that there were Malayalis too in the gang. We have received a tip-off about the autorickshaw. Therefore, the investigation would be completed soon,” he said. However, he added that the role of such a mafia cannot be entirely dismissed.
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