Police come to the aid of elderly in Allahabad
ALLAHABAD: Acknowledging that hardly 2% of senior citizens are aware of the existence of Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act , the men-in-khaki have initiated steps to apprise senior citizens about their legal rights.
After launching measures to ensure safety and security of over 2,000 listed senior citizens, the police have also been apprising them about their legal rights.
"These measures have been initiated after it came to light that more and more elderly people are frequenting police stations with complaints against their kin regarding misbehaviour, grabbing of property, etc. The police, apart from offering a helping hand, have been advising them to use their rights," said a senior police officer.
The Senior Citizens Act is aimed at ensuring that the elderly live in self-respect and peace and has proved to be a potent tool for them to acquire their rights in many parts of the countries. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act mandates states to form tribunals for every sub-division of a district to look into the grievances of senior citizens, particularly those who don't receive proper food, shelter or clothing. Meant to provide succour to parents who have been abandoned or ill-treated by their kin, tribunals spare seniors the rigmarole of the judicial process, and aim to resolve conflicts within 90 days, he added.
IG, Allahabad zone, Alok Sharma, admitted: "Hardly 2% of the elderly persons know about the Senior Citizens Act and we have been making efforts to apprise their about their rights. We used to get many complaints by elderly persons accusing their kith and kin for their alleged misbehavior. We also initiated steps to ensure safety and security of elderly citizens enlisting and updating them thana-wise and asking the beat in-charges to visit the homes of listed elderly once a week or fortnight to check about their well being."
In the past four and half months, 23 cases, including three murders of elderly persons, were registered in police records.
Officials admitted that security of senior citizens, for long, has remained a cause of concern in the region. They added that efforts are underway to draft a proper mechanism to ensure security of elderly so that they could heave a sigh of relief at their houses without any fear.
Undoubtedly, there are a number of complaints pending with the police where elderly are seeking help of police officials to save them from their own family members. Moreover, senior citizens, particularly those living alone on city outskirts, often become soft targets for criminals.
Retired railway official Radhakant said: "What I realize is that not many people are aware about the Act. There is a need to spread awareness among the elderly. I also seek assistance from police authorities."
He admitted that besides becoming target of criminals, many senior citizens are subjected to domestic abuse. However, fearing banishment from the family, many victims shied away from lodging complaints with the police.
V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO,
APARTMENTS, M.T.P.ROAD,
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