While murders are not uncommon in any city, Bengaluru is seeing a worrying trend of late. The elderly, especially those who happen to stay alone, seem to be sitting ducks for criminals. Just days after a 65-year old former gram panchayat member and his 60-year old wife were kidnapped in broad daylight, the city woke up to the double murder of a 74-year old man and his 68-year old wife.
In fact, over the last decade Bengaluru, which once enjoyed the reputation of a safe and pleasant haven for the elderly, has seen 50 of its senior citizens murdered. Around 20 of these murders were reportedly for gain, but the police seems clueless about what could have led to the rest. In the late Nineties it was the Dandupalya gang which targeted them. The gang operated with precision, targeting the home-alone elderly and attacking them after detailed planning, spreading terror in the city.
The police expected the arrest of the key five members of the gang in February 2002 to stem the tide, but the murders of the elderly continued and in many cases the hands of several absconding members of the gang was suspected. The police was never able to trace these other gang members and the fact that some of the murders of the elderly still seem to be pre-meditated, has given rise to fresh fears about the criminals who may be involved. Take the August 10 murder of Venkateshaiah, 74 and his wife V. Swarnamba, 68 which had all the hallmarks of careful groundwork and planning by their assailants. Even in other cases the criminals appeared to have done a recce of the crime scene as they seemed to be familiar with the routine of their victims.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), T. Suneel Kumar, admits there has been a rise in the number of crimes against the elderly and claims the police is actively trying to protect them. But as this has not achieved very much yet, the police obviously needs to chalk out a more thorough security plan for the elderly through community watch or other initiatives.
It also clearly needs to step up its investigation as a number of these murders still remain unsolved. These include the high profile murder of 81-year-old Prema Naidu, wife of a retired joint commissioner in the transport department and the cousin of the high court security assistant commissioner of police, Ramesh Babu.
Helpline not very helpful
Concerned about the growing number of elderly being murdered in the city, the city police launched a helpline for them in 2002 with the Nightingales Medical Trust that works with senior citizens. But of late the helpline number, 1090, has not been much of a help as it is proving hard to access.
Many elderly complain they receive no response if they dial it from mobile networks other than BSNL and sometimes receive a “wrong number” response. The problem has been unresolved for over a month now, they lament. Officials manning the helpline too admit they have received such complaints.