Freedom fighter donates pension to Bahadur Shah's distressed kin

Kolkata, Sep 7 (UNI) Veteran freedom fighter Mewa Lal Gupta Arya today donated his one month's pension to Sultana Begum, the great grand daughter-in-law of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Moghul emperor of India.

The 91-year-old freedom fighter from Allahabad visited Sultana Begum's residence in Howrah with the sole purpose aiding her after going through newspaper reports that she was living in extreme poverty.

Residing in a slum with her daughter on Howrah's Foreshore Road, Begum runs a small roadside scrap shop near her residence to earn her livelihood. She receives a Central Government pension of Rs 400.

Earlier, Begum used to run a tea shop which she had to vacate for widening of the road.

Criticising the Government for 'neglecting' Sultana Begum; Mr Arya said he would take her to Delhi to place a demand for adequate financial help.

The Begum said she had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi requesting for an increase in her pension, but there was no reply so far.

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