Wealthy Beggars: The two fraudsters who were caught by Ao Students' Conference while begging for money at Mokokchung. During their stay at Mokokchung, these two beggars collected nearly 40,000 rupees. (Morung Photo)
Mokokchung, May 8 (MExN): Beggars can’t be choosers, they say. So when two very hale and hearty beggars from Assam claiming to be ‘deaf and dumb’ refused thirty rupees from a citizen in Mokokchung, suspicions were aroused. The Ao Students’ Conference (AKM) apprehended the two healthy beggars and to their surprise, they discovered nearly forty thousand rupees from these two ‘deaf and dumb beggars’. The two fraudsters are now in police custody.
According to AKM officials suspicions were first aroused as to how two beggars could enter Mokokchung district since there is a very strict ILP laws. On checking the Inner Line Permit of the two fraudsters it was found that the ILP was issued in Dimapur and the guarantor was one H Sema.
Interestingly, the fraudsters had the same father – Shri Ram Pandey of Tila Bosti, Lahorijan, Karbi Anglong, but with different surnames. One of the fraudster has been identified as Shiv Kumar (20 year) while his ‘brother’ (the other fraudster) is Hariram Pandey (18 years).
And more interestingly, they carried a ‘certificate’ issued by ‘Government of Nepal, District Administration, Fewatel Kaski Pokhara’. The certificate mentions a distressed orphaned family and says that the two has ‘no tongue’. It appeals the readers of the certificate to donate “Rs 100, Rs 200, 400 Rs 500, 1000 and so on according to your ability”. They also carried notebooks where the names of the donors were written.
Reportedly the fraudsters were supposed to stay for only one day in Mokokchung but stayed back for seven days. They hid the money in hidden pockets sewn in their pockets and built-in pockets in their belts. Anyhow, they forgot the cardinal rule of begging – beggars can’t be choosers – which eventually landed them in jail. The Mokokchung Gorkha Union who also arrived at AKM office denied that the two were Nepalese citizens and strongly condemned the misuse of the name of Nepalese citizens. Meanwhile, the AKM has cautioned the public to be aware of such fraudsters. It further asserted that the government should strictly enforce the ILP in the state. Besides, the AKM president Akok Longkumer said that the fraudsters should not be released on bail and that the authorities should thoroughly investigate the matter especially as to how the two could obtain ILP and enter into the state for begging.
