DOHA: The Anti-begging Section at the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has prepared a plan to fight begging which becomes rampant during Ramadan, said an official from the MoI.

The plan has been prepared in collaboration with all MoI security departments,  said Captain Abdullah Saad Al Dawsari, Chairman of the Anti-begging Section at the Criminal Investigation Department of the MoI.

Al Dawsari asked people to report any cases of begging because Qatari law criminalises begging and people have to give charity only to charity organisations, because they are the ones who are responsible for collection and distribution of charity.

These charity organizations are better equipped to distribute charity properly because of their continuous study of the people in distress and need.

Regarding the use of non-traditional approaches by beggars such as the use of social media channels WhatsApp and Instagram, Dawsari told Qatari radio that “people should report such accounts and our section will investigate such cases and catch them. Sometimes some accounts owners are outside the country due to which it takes time to catch them.”

The police patrols are ready 24 hours to nab beggars. Officials have urged residents to alert the department about any case of begging. Residents can inform about beggars on number 999 or 33618627.

Many people are taking begging as a job and they are moving from one place to another to gather more money. The charity organizations are keeping their doors open and any one can visit and they are ready to provide help to the needy people depending on his/her cases.

Al Dawsari pointed out that the beggars are exploiting the people’s sympathy to cheat them and people have to be careful about that and must report quickly about that.

The beggars choose places such as malls, mosques and markets and sometimes they visit people and knock at their doors saying that they are sick and want to buy medicines. Sometimes they also claim that they have organization and need help to build mosques.