The Hindu : New Delhi News : Special cell to monitor security of senior citizens

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 23, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Special cell to monitor security of senior citizens

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JUNE 22. In the wake of the gruesome murder of Lieutenant-General (Retd.) Harnam Singh Seth and his wife at their Vasant Enclave residence here on Saturday night, the Lieutenant-Governor, B.L. Joshi, in a meeting with the Police Commissioner, K.K. Paul, on Monday reviewed the steps being taken by the police to ensure the safety and security of senior citizens in the Capital.

At the meeting, which was also attended by the Delhi Chief Secretary, Shailja Chandra, it was decided to create a special cell under the supervision of the Crime Branch to monitor matters pertaining to the well-being of senior citizens. The cell would function directly under the supervision of the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Sudhir Yadav. However, the modalities are yet to be worked out.

The police have also decided to give wide publicity to dedicated helpline numbers for senior citizens (1091 and 1291) and urge them to contact them in case their names do not figure in the list of senior citizens. As of now, the police have listed only 3,690 such citizens living in Delhi, of whom 1,249 live only in South Delhi.

The police informed that apart from servant verification, they would also ask employers to collect at least two references from their domestic helps, for proper verification of their antecedents.

Dr. Paul said the police had recently launched "Adoption of Senior Citizens by School Students" programme to reduce their dependence on unknown persons, who might take advantage of their loneliness. Under this scheme, students from various schools visit senior citizens living away from their children to share their problems and to extend to them emotional support. "It has been my experience that through children it is easier to make the adults understand things, which they otherwise overlook," said Dr. Paul.

About the general apathy of citizens towards servant verification, Dr. Paul said it mostly due to poor public image of the police. "We are putting lot of effort to change that image, but it is a very long process and would take time. Until and unless the public feels comfortable with the police, it would be difficult to get their full cooperation," he said, adding that the police had made a good beginning and were now a few steps ahead from where they had started.

"Through advertisements we have been appealing to senior citizens to install safety devices like video phones, alarms and panic buttons, which are readily available in the market. Criminals find senior citizens easy targets. Hence, they should take measures, as being frequently suggested by us, to create more hurdles for such elements," said Dr. Paul. Pointing out that people do take notice of how serious the policemen are in getting their cooperation, Dr. Paul sent a message across to his subordinates to put in an honest effort in dealing with this serious problem.

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