VIJAYAWADA: For the third consecutive year, Vijayawada has topped the list of 34 metropolitan cities in India in terms of crimes against senior citizens.
This was revealed by data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which showed that 460 such cases were recorded in the city in 2019 alone.
These 34 metropolitan cities have populations of more than 1 million and less than 2 million people. Visakhapatnam reported 87 cases in 2019, which is higher than in previous years.
Andhra Pradesh recorded 2,430 cases of violence in 2019, compared to 1,673 the previous year. The crime rate is 50.3 per one lakh population, and this includes offences such as murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to murder, hurt, assault with intent to outrage modesty, kidnapping and abduction, rape, theft, extortion and cheating, among other crimes. As many as 2,447 elderly people were victims of crime.
Ironically, Vijayawada, which has witnessed many initiatives and reforms in the police department in the past three years, stood first in terms of crimes against senior citizens. Of the 1,813 cases reported in 34 metropolitan cities, 25.4 per cent of crimes (460) were in Vijayawada.
However, there is a decrease in the number of cases compared to previous years. While 514 atrocities against elderly people were reported in 2018, as many as 586 were reported in 2017. Visakhapatnam reported 87 cases in 2019, which is higher than in previous years.In order to raise awareness and protect senior citizens, the then Vijayawada city police commissioner Damodar Gautam Sawang formed Vruddha Mithra.
Under the initiative, teams from all police stations conduct awareness campaigns in residential colonies about the laws and rights of senior citizens to instil confidence in them. “The increase in the number of cases is due to ‘Spandana’, wherein every petition from senior citizen was accepted and solved within a week,” said a senior IPS officer.
The data highlighted that senior citizens are prone to social discrimination and faced criticism from relatives and society. As many as 671 cases of hurt were reported, and 67 people were killed across the state. On the other hand, elderly people were found to be at a greater risk of theft, criminal trespassing, forgery, cheating, fraud and extortion.
Better than last year
Last year saw a decrease in the number of crimes committed against senior citizens in Vijayawada. While 460 were reported in 2019, 514 were reported in 2018, and 586 in 2017
