A twist unfolded in Indore when a man with leprosy, picked up while begging, reportedly owned several homes. Houses aside, he supposedly had autorickshaws, even a car with a driver. Officials say he collected wealth without stopping his street appeals. His relatives push back hard – so do some advocates – saying claims miss the truth. What looks like proof to authorities feels like distortion to others.

Out of nowhere, details surfaced when city teams checked the Sarafa spot – one of Indore’s busy evening food zones – for begging activities. People living nearby had flagged someone unusual: a man getting around on a rolling plank, missing limbs from leprosy, asking for money each day. That tip reached officers through a PTI update.

Turns out, during checks, officials said they couldn’t believe the 50-year-old supposedly held onto three homes – one of them a tall three-level structure – on top of that, three rickshaws plus a vehicle he apparently travels in with someone else driving.

A person seen on city streets rolling through traffic in a small cart caught people’s attention. Complaints reached officials about his constant presence near busy crossings. Dinesh Mishra, working with the Women and Child Development Department, confirmed the situation. The man, affected by leprosy, uses the cart to move while asking strangers for money. Since at least 2021–22, he has made rounds in the area seeking help. Authorities stepped in after repeated concerns were raised.

Money comes his way through loans given in Indore’s gold trade scene, officials say. Lending around four to five lakh rupees to traders brings him one to two thousand rupees every day in returns. Daily income includes another four to five hundred rupees collected by asking people for money on streets. Reports suggest these activities form his main source of earnings.

Facing backlash fast, the relative pushed back hard. A nephew stepped forward, stating clearly the building cited by leaders sits under his mom’s legal title – never held by the street dweller. Payments continue on that residence each month, he added. Officials, in his view, floated stories detached from reality, twisting facts about what the man supposedly held.

Not long ago, someone mentioned a house tied to his uncle now caught up in court matters. Moving through Sarafa, the older man stops by to gather payments from people who borrowed cash. Pictures of him started moving around online, showing him like a person asking for change, though that was never true. What folks are sharing simply does not match what actually happened. A relative stepped forward, insisting details floating around are way off base.

Only once every detail is checked will any step be taken, according to Shivam Verma, the District Magistrate. When speaking about how the city handles begging, he pointed out that Indore works nonstop to find those pushed into it – then help them rebuild. Aiming to stay free of street begging shapes much of what officials do here. Campaigns pop up often, quietly shifting lives by offering exits from desperation.

From her vantage point, Rupali Jain – who leads Pravesh, a nonprofit fighting against forced begging – asked officials and citizens alike to respond with empathy. In her words, his situation deserves care rooted in human dignity, not amplified by dramatic headlines.

Years back, the man labored as a mason until leprosy wrecked his hands and legs, halting any chance at hard work. Jain explained how scorn from others, combined with no backing from relatives, drove him into begging. Night after night, he began sitting by the Sarafa food hub, asking strangers for coins.

At first, she said the group reached out two times during four years to get him to quit asking for money. For a while, he listened and stopped. Then again, things changed when he went back to it. According to Jain, there was never enough coming in from panhandling to build real savings.

With officials still checking what happened, talk has grown about hardship, illness, getting help, and how we see those who end up begging because of tough conditions. People are questioning why some struggle so much when support feels out of reach.