ISLAMABAD, Nov 18: Two local courts sent 12 beggars to Adiala Jail on Saturday, court officials said.

The beggars, most of whom were women, had been arrested by two different police stations on several public complaints the other day.

The prosecution submitted that shoppers felt harassed by the aggressive style of these people who begged in various commercial centres of the city.

The two magistrates, Syed Farasat Ali and Ajmal Bukhari, after listening to the contentions of the prosecution, awarded the beggars a 14-day imprisonment under the Beggary Act.

Residents say that beggars are able to throng the capital in large numbers because they have the backing of the local police.

Beggars have been quoted in several news items as saying that they could not even think of begging in the commercial areas of the city “without greasing policemen’s palms”.