Millionaire in beggars' home
By: Vinod Kumar Menon Date: 2010-07-31 Place: Mumbai
Constable assumes 62-year-old Colaba resident limping across street is a
vagabond; dumps him at beggars' home in Chembur
He had stepped out of home to go to the bank. Instead, he landed in a
home for beggars, thanks to the unnecessary and extra concern shown by a
policeman.
Colaba resident Robert D'souza (62), who is visually challenged, was
picked up by a police constable in the first week of this month and,
much against D'souza's wishes, taken to the Beggars' Home in Chembur.
The beggars' home is, as its name suggests, a charitable home that takes
cares of mendicants.
"That morning, I was passing by Cusrow Baug in Colaba, to go Central
Bank's Fort branch. I am blind and also have a wound," said D'souza.
"With a walking stick for support, I was requesting passers-by to help
me to the bus stop when a sturdy hand grabbed me by the arm and dragged
into a waiting vehicle."
D'souza said no questions were asked and before he knew it he was taken
to the home for beggars. "How right is it on the part of the police to
do such a thing?" he asks staring into nothingness.
This is the second such case of a man who is not a beggar but is being
forced to live in a beggars' home. MiD DAY reported a similar case in
its edition dated July 29 ('We "beg" to differ').
D'souza, a bachelor, has since been moved out of the home for beggars
and has now been shifted to a home for dying destitute persons at Tagore
Nagar in Vikhroli.
Food for rot
"Life at the beggars' home was a nightmare. We were treated worse than
prisoners and the food served was not meant for human beings," D'souza
told MiD DAY.
"We were served half-cooked rice, a watery dal and boiled brinjal for
lunch and dinner."
This was in sharp contrast to the daily diet regimen that this former
employee of a multinational firm was used to in the comforts of his home.
"My daily diet comprised a chocolate-flavoured milk drink, sweet corn
soup and bread."
D'souza is annoyed at the constable who mistook him for a beggar and
took him to the charity home.
If mum were alive...
Life was always a bed of roses for D'souza till his mother, Mariya,
passed away 17 years ago.
"She used to let out part of their 1,200-sq-ft apartment to paying
guests, some of who included foreigners," said D'souza who lost his
father when he was very young. He has no siblings.
After his mother's death, life was never the same. "I had developed
cataract in both eyes.
During the surgery, I developed complications to the retina, which
caused complete loss of vision," said D'souza. "Soon after losing my
vision, I also lost my job."
No home, no money
As if the cruel blow that fate dealt him were not enough, there was more
in store. D'souza said he was cheated of his home by people who took
advantage of his blindness.
"I wanted to dispose of my property in 1993. I was offered Rs 14 lakh
for the apartment but I thought I could get more," recalled D'souza.
I was introduced to one Kulbhushan Malik who agreed to pay Rs 20 lakh
besides free treatment at a hospital in Chennai to help restore my vision."
D'souza said that Malik made him sign some documents, only to learn
later that he had been taken for a ride. "Not only did I lose the house,
the money was not paid either."
"I should have struck the first deal and taken Rs 14 lakh, but greed got
the better of me," D'souza said, a tinge of regret in his voice.
After lodging a police complaint against Malik, D'souza said the
fraudster was arrested. The legal matter is, however, pending in court.
Besides, a locker which his mother operated at Bank of India's Fountain
branch still lies untouched.
"My mother had kept gold ornaments, some foreign currency and rent
receipts in the locker," he recalled. "Surely, the valuables might run
into a few lakhs of rupees."
Fear stalks
Safely ensconced at the Home for Dying Destitutes at Vikhroli, D'souza
is scared to venture out alone on the streets.
"I do not want to be hauled by another policeman and taken to the
beggars' home again. I'm a free human being and want to be like that,"
he said.
The Other Side
Beggars' Home
"FROM D'souza's speech and demeanour, I figured he is not a beggar. So,
I contacted the destitute home myself," said Superintendent of Beggars'
Home Gautam Arwel.
About the quality of food served at the home, he said, "We cook from
what the government supplies to us and cannot do anything about it."
The police
"I have no clue about this particular incident. I will have to enquire
before making any comment," said Assistant Commissioner of Police
(Colaba division) Iqbal Shaikh.
About the criteria they look for when they pick up a 'beggar', Shaikh
said, "We take action only against those who are spotted begging, in
keeping with the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act 1959.
Home for dying destitute
"D'souza seems to be from a decent family and he told me all about his
past," said Brother Peter Paul (53), who heads the destitute home in
Vikhroli and has worked closely with Mother Teresa's Home in Kolkata.
"He is free to stay with us for as long as he wants to."
Presently the home for destitute people houses over 30 in the hospital.
We provide them basic needs and once they die, we conduct the funeral,
as per their religion.
Number game
30
The number of people living in the Home for Dying Destitutes at Vikhroli
Rs 1.25 cr
The estimated market price of D'souza's flat in Colaba
1959
The year the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act came into effect
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/jul/310710-Robert-D-souza-Dying-Destitutes-Vikhroli-beggars-Millionaire.htm
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