In most Indian states And UTs, you can be arrested for 'looking poor'

Laws allow police to round up beggars without warrant and judges to confine them

The act of begging is a crime in 20 states and two union territories of India, reflecting society’s embarrassment at manifest poverty and annoyance at perceived encroachment of public spaces.

In most places, people can be arrested for “looking poor”, as our analysis of laws in 18 states and union territories (UTs) shows. Laws allow the police to round up beggars without warrant and judges to confine them in government-run institutions for long or indefinite periods–a violation of constitutional principles. The language of the law essentially