இந்தியாவில் பிச்சை எடுத்து பங்களாதேஷில் லட்சாதிபதி ஆனவர்

இந்தியாவில் பிச்சை எடுத்து பங்களாதேஷில் லட்சாதிபதி ஆனவர்

Beggar in India is a millionaire in Bangladesh
21 Jul 2008, 0003 hrs IST, Kshitiz Gaur,TNN

AJMER: For Mohammed Jakir, an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh, begging may have begun as a compulsion but through his ingenuity he turned it into a career option.

The 42-year-old amputee, who begged in Indian cities for more than two decades, is today known to be a rich man in Bangladesh.

Indian intelligence sleuths, who nabbed Jakir after learning about his all-too-frequent visits to Bangladesh, claim that his wealth in that country could be around Rs 75 lakh!

Jakir crossed over to India illegally in 1986 at the Benapura Indo-Bangladesh border. Without hands to work with, he realised begging was his only option and he did so for years on streets near Gateway of India, Mumbai. The money he made not only supported his family in Mumbai but also helped him save.

"I earned a lot in Mumbai. Indians have sympathy for the handicapped. One man even donated Rs 1,100 to me," revealed Jakir during interrogation by the cops in Ajmer, who arrested him on Saturday night. It's learnt that Jakir, son of Mohammed Ali, is from Mohammedpura district, Bangladesh.

"My earning was so good that I could marry Naseema, a teenage girl, and buy a house at Murtinagar and raise a family with her," he says. They had five children, four of them girls.

Naseema eventually left for Delhi with her kids. "Somehow, the hearts of people changed; their sympathy faded. Two years ago, I left Mumbai and arrived at Ajmer for 'Urs'. It proved to be the right decision.