A 69-year-old Indian woman who spent about four decades begging has left her family and neighbours stunned after a large amount of money was discovered hidden inside sacks at her home following her death.
Noorunnisa, also known locally as Noor or Hoor, was found dead at her home in Mandya, Karnataka, India, on Sunday, August 23. For years, residents had known her as a woman who depended on begging for survival, often seeing her at busy traffic junctions and outside a local mosque.
However, nobody appeared to know that the woman had quietly accumulated a substantial amount of cash over the years.
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Shocking discovery after her death
Concern was raised when neighbours noticed that Noorunnisa had not been seen outside for several days.
When relatives entered the woman’s home, they discovered that she had died. As they began cleaning the property, they came across a locked room that Noorunnisa had reportedly kept private for many years.
After the room was opened, relatives discovered more than 30 sacks containing coins and currency notes.
The money reportedly included denominations of Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 50, with some of the cash hidden among the accumulated coins.
The discovery shocked the family because they had never realised how much money Noorunnisa had saved during her years of begging.
According to reports, 10 of the sacks were found to contain approximately Rs 8.4 lakh, equivalent to Rs 840,000.
Money temporarily handed to mosque
Following the discovery, the family temporarily handed the sacks of money to a local mosque for safekeeping and counting while they waited for other relatives to arrive.
The discovery quickly attracted attention in the community, with rumours spreading on social media that the elderly woman had accumulated more than Rs 1 crore.
However, mosque officials later dismissed those claims.
After a two-day counting and verification process, officials confirmed that the total amount was Rs 8.4 lakh.
Mukthar Ahmed, vice-president of the local mosque, said the money was counted in the presence of family members before the full amount was returned to them.
The clarification helped put an end to the exaggerated claims that had circulated online.
Family unaware of hidden fortune
Noorunnisa’s relatives said they were completely unaware that she had accumulated such a large amount of money.
Her nephew, Fairoz Ahmed, explained that members of the family occasionally visited her to provide food and help her with bathing.
However, they never had access to the locked room where the money was stored.
According to Fairoz, Noorunnisa had always kept the room secured and would not allow relatives inside.
She reportedly communicated with family members from the doorway rather than allowing them into the private section of her home.
The family therefore had no idea that decades of small donations from members of the public had accumulated into hundreds of thousands of rupees.
Four decades of begging
Noorunnisa reportedly spent around 40 years begging.
She was one of six siblings and had lived alone since the death of her unmarried sister approximately two years ago.
The woman’s family said Noorunnisa had suffered from a long-term mental illness, but she continued living independently and travelling around the community to beg.
Local residents remembered seeing her on major roads after 10 a.m. and sitting outside the mosque on Fridays.
She reportedly accepted both money and food from people passing by.
Because residents saw her as someone living in poverty, the discovery of her savings came as an extraordinary surprise.
One resident recalled that Noorunnisa had become so familiar in the community that parents sometimes mentioned her when trying to persuade children to behave or eat their food.
Family plans to help relatives
After the money was counted and returned, Noorunnisa’s family reportedly decided that the Rs 8.4 lakh would be distributed among relatives who are in need.
The decision means that the money she accumulated over several decades could ultimately help members of the same family who had supported her during her final years.
The case has also generated discussions about poverty, mental health and the lives of people who spend years surviving through begging.
While Noorunnisa was widely perceived as a poor elderly woman dependent on the generosity of strangers, the discovery revealed another side of her life that very few people knew about.
A mystery that surprised the community
The circumstances surrounding Noorunnisa’s savings have left many people wondering why she accumulated and protected the money for so long.
Unlike conventional savers, she reportedly collected relatively small denominations from members of the public and kept them hidden rather than spending them.
The woman’s decision to keep the room locked meant that even close relatives remained unaware of the growing amount of cash.
The discovery therefore transformed what initially appeared to be the sad death of an elderly beggar into an unexpected story about decades of saving, secrecy and an unusual hidden fortune.
For residents of Mandya, Noorunnisa’s story is likely to remain memorable for years to come.
What began as concern over the disappearance of a familiar woman ultimately led to the discovery of a surprising financial secret hidden inside her modest home.
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Read the full report on The Indian Express
