He was a regular at Indore’s bustling Sarafa jewellery market. The leprosy-stricken man would slide through the lanes on a wooden cart with a torn, shabby bag on his back, begging from passers-by. While people bought and sold precious metals and stones in the local shops, 50-year-old Mangilal had quietly struck gold.

When the women and child development department “rescued" him during an anti-begging drive—begging is banned in Indore, celebrated as India’s cleanest city for a decade—they discovered that the man was richer than many of his donors.

He owned three houses, ran a money-lending business which earned him over Rs 1,000 a day, and rented out a small fleet of autorickshaws. He came to beg daily in his car, steered around by a driver.

Or take Bharat Jain, for example. Known as the world’s richest beggar, he operates in Mumbai and earns about Rs 2,500 daily. He has a net worth of about Rs 7.5 crore. Jain owns a posh two-bedroom flat and rents out two shops, creating extra........

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