42 elderly rescued from illegal Noida old-age home; women found tied up, others locked away
LUCKNOW: The UP State Women's Commission and police conducted a raid on an ‘illegal’ old age home in Noida on Thursday, rescuing 42 elderly people who were found living in pathetic conditions at the facility.
According to Commission member Meenakshi Bharala, at the time of the raid, an elderly woman was found tied to a cot and men were locked in basement-like rooms at the Anand Niketan Vridha Seva Ashram, which was found in a shabby state.
As per sources, the conditions at the old age home were inhuman. When the team asked the operator of the ashram to show documents for the institution, he failed to produce any. It was later discovered that the facility, situated at C-5, Noida, Sector 55, had been operating since 1994 without proper documentation or registration. Orders were issued to seal the facility with immediate effect.
According to Bharala, a video of the old age home had gone viral on social media, showing an elderly woman tied up and kept in a room. The video was noticed by the Social Welfare Department of the UP government, which then instructed the commission to conduct a raid.
Subsequently, a team comprising members of the State Women’s Commission, the District Social Welfare Officer, the District Probation Officer, and police were assembled and raided the ashram.
Bharala said that at the time of the raid, elderly women and men were locked in rooms. The locks were opened, and the woman who was tied up was rescued. The men were found lying without proper clothing, and many women were wearing incomplete clothes.
“All the inmates were safely evacuated. There were 42 elderly people living in the ashram, out of which three will be shifted to an old-age home run by the Social Welfare Department on Friday, and the rest will be relocated to other government-approved old-age homes within the next five days,” she added.
Sources claimed that there was no staff to care for the elderly. The residents had to manage all their work themselves. Many were found living in utter filth and had even contracted diseases.
One woman at the ashram claimed to be a nurse but later revealed that she had passed only 12th grade.
Bharala added that the ashram management had been charging Rs 2.5 lakh per person as a grant to keep the elderly residents, taking Rs 20,000 as a security deposit and Rs 10,000 to 12,000 per month for accommodation and food.
Meanwhile, the ashram management claimed that some elderly people had their hands tied with light cloth to prevent them from hurting themselves, stating there had been instances where residents either injured themselves or defecated and threw it on others.