Cash-filled sacks of cash have been found at the house of a woman in Karnataka who spent all of her life begging.
69-year-old Noorunnisa was found de@d on Sunday, August 23, at her home in Mandya, India.
When locals inspected her home, they found thousands of coins and currency notes in denominations of Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 50 stuffed inside more than 30 sacks.
To the residents of Mandya in Karnataka, Noorunnisa was simply a tragic figure, a 69-year-old woman with a long-term mental illness who spent over four decades roaming local traffic junctions and begging.
However, the sacks of money found in her house sent shockwaves through her family and neighbourhood. According to reports, they found 10 hidden sacks packed with Rs 8.40 lakh in cash.
The discovery came only after neighbours raised an alarm on Sunday, August 23, noticing Noorunnisa, also known as Noor or Hoor, had not stepped outside for days. Entering the house, her relatives found her de@d.
As they began cleaning the premises, they forced open the lock to a private room she had guarded for decades. They found sacks with decades’ worth of accumulated coins and currency notes.
The family temporarily handed the sacks over to a local mosque for safekeeping and counting while awaiting other relatives.
As word spread, viral social media rumours falsely claimed the hoard exceeded Rs 1 crore. However, mosque officials cleared the air on Monday, August 24, following a two-day audit.
“The family entrusted us with the money. The counting was conducted strictly in front of the family members, and the total came to Rs 8.4 lakh,” said Mukthar Ahmed, vice-president of the local mosque. “We have handed the entire amount back to the family.”
The family has said the entire Rs 8.4 lakh will be distributed among the needy relatives.
Noor was one of six siblings. She had lived alone since her unmarried sister passed away two years ago. She had been begging for around 40 years, according to her family.
“We visited her occasionally to give her food and help her bathe,” said her nephew Fairoz Ahmed. “However, we were completely unaware of the money she had accumulated. The room where the cash was found was always kept locked. She never allowed anyone inside and would only speak to us while standing at the door.”
Fairoz added that the family had repeatedly tried to persuade her to leave begging.
Local residents recalled seeing her roaming the main roads after 10 am or sitting outside the local mosque on Fridays, accepting both cash and food from passersby.
“Whenever small children refused to eat food or hear our words, we used to tell them Noor would pick you up and go,” a resident said, describing how poor they all assumed Noor was.
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