‘Illegal’ old-age home raided in Noida; elderly found tied, without clothes

AT to the lowest degree 42 elderly people were reclaimed from an “illegal” old-age place after police force found some women fastened up and many of the residents holed up in “basement-like” rooms without clothes, officials said.The matter came to light when police conducted a raid at the institution on Thursday in the presence of Uttar Pradesh State Women Commission and State Welfare Department members, news agency PTI reported.Officials said that the institution, Anand Niketan Vridha Seva Ashram, was found in a shabby state.Meenakshi Bharala, a member of the women's commission, said that the Ashram, situated at C-5, Noida, Sector 55, was an illegal old-age home. She said that some photos and videos of a woman being tied had gone viral on social media. The person who made the purported viral video claimed that these deplorable conditions were those of the Anand Niketan Ashram.She added, “During the raid, an elderly woman found tied up while other elderly people were locked in basement-like rooms.” Bharala said that some of the men did not even have clothes, while many elderly women were found half-clothed.ALSO READ | Ludhiana: ‘Harassed’ for loan EMI, elderly couple end livesFurthermore, when the investigating team asked the operator of the ashram to show documents of the institution, he failed to come up with any. It was then found that the alleged old-age home has been functioning since 1994, but without registration, which makes it "illegal".“This old-age home is completely illegal. There were 42 elderly people living in the ashram, out of which three elderly people will be shifted to an old-age home run by the social welfare department on Friday, and the rest will be shifted to other government-approved old-age homes in the next five days,” she added.Old-age home to be sealed with administrative helpThe illegal old-age home will be sealed with the help of the administration, the women's commission member said.Bharala further said that the ashram management was taking a grant of ₹2.5 lakh per person to keep the elderly residents. They took ₹20,000 as a security deposit and ₹10,000 to 12,000 for accommodation and food, a Live Hindustan report said.ALSO READ | Human rights panel steps in after elderly Gurugram couple found living in neglectMany of the elderly people at the ashram are reportedly parents of rich families of Noida.Despite taking such grants, no staff was kept to look after the elderly. They were simply doing their daily routine by themselves. The clothes of many of the residents were reportedly found with stains of urine and faeces.ALSO READ | Haryana Human Rights Commission expresses concern over old age homes in stateThe investigating team also found a woman at the institution who claimed to be a nurse. However, upon interrogation, it was found that she was just a school graduate.The management of the ashram allegedly defended themselves, saying that some elderly people were tied up to prevent them from hurting themselves. They said that previously, many of them had hurt themselves or defecated or thrown waste on others. Hence, they were tied up to keep them safe.Women's Commission member Meenakshi Bharala was accompanied by the District Social Welfare Officer, District Probation Officer, and a police team.(with PTI inputs)