INDIA: Old, lonely and not safe at home
NEW DELHI (The Times of India)
July 29, 2008
By Rahul Tripathi, Times News Network
The murder of 79-year-old retired government official R P Srivastava in Noida on Sunday, July 27, once again raises uncomfortable questions about the safety of elderly citizens living alone. Though more than 7,300 senior citizens are registered with the Delhi Police's senior citizen cell — cops say there has been an increase of more than 10% this year — crimes against elderly are on the rise. This year, eight senior citizens have been murdered so far, while 2006 witnessed 26 such cases.
According to police, elderly citizens, particularly those living alone, are soft targets. Srivastava, who was found gagged and murdered in his Noida home on Sunday, was living alone after his wife's death. His son stays in Bangalore. Living alone in their twilight years, many like him, are left feeling lonely and more vulnerable to crime.
As a senior police officer says: ‘‘They become soft targets as they are physically weak and unable to protect themselves. At times, they are victims of exploitation, verbal abuse, vandalism, assault and abusive behaviour. They could also be living in fear after being threatened by their own relatives, domestic helps, landlords, tenants, strangers, thieves or intruders.
''The Delhi Police set up a senior citizen's cell to deal with the security of the elderly. Around 7,397 senior citizens, living alone, have registered with the cell so far. The number was 6,700 last year. But the cell has not been able to do much to build confidence among the elderly. Many senior citizens, who are registered with cell, complain that the good intent of cops last for the first couple of months, after which visits by beat constables become few and far between.
‘‘Earlier, the beat constable used to visit us twice every month. With the passage of time, these visits became erratic. They promised to be there for us always — even to run small errands — but those promises were never meant to be kept. Worse still, the policemen posted with the cell do not even try to understand our problems,'' says a retired bank employee of Kalkaji. ast year, 42 cases of crime targeting elders, including 13 murders, were reported in the Capital. This year, the figure has crossed 24 in the first six months. The police, too, are alarmed at this increase in crimes and they blame this mainly on societal changes. ‘‘We try to focus on elderly citizens living alone, but we cannot act in isolation. The children and relatives of senior citizens should realise their responsibility. So far, there have been no incidents of crime against members registered with senior citizen cell,'' says additional CP (headquarters) Kewal Singh.
‘‘There are several benefits of registering with the cell. We ensure regular weekly visits and even contact them over the phone. But many a times, senior citizens refuse to get themselves registered,'' adds Singh. Cops cite the case of 65-year-old Nishi Banga who was found murdered in her GK home last year. She apparently refused to get herself registered with the cell.
rahul.tripathi@timesgroup.com
Copyright © 2008 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd
SOURCE: Times of India
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