KP to look after elders living alone

The Lalbazar, Headquarters of the Kolkata Police has recently sent a directive to all the police stations across the city to identify, monitor and take care of vulnerable elderly individuals who stay alone in the city. This directive was sent to the police stations after several cases of homicides took place in the city. These directives if followed properly will prevent incidents of assault or murder of elderly individuals living alone. The police stations are asked to commission ‘beat officers’ who will be responsible for a particular section under the jurisdiction of a certain police station for looking after these elderly citizens of the city who live by their own. These beat officers will visit their houses and take note of their wellbeing. To start with, these beat officers will identify the elderly citizens living alone in the city and keep records of them. The officers will also request them to inform the local police station or the beat officer himself before engaging any unknown individual for any job, such as plumbing, carpentry or painting. A senior officer at Lalbazar said, “Since most of these crimes are murders for gain, the primary responsibility of the beat officers of a particular police station will be to move around and identify aged couples who can be targets. The sole thrust of this exercise will be security of aged couples”. The officers in-charge of Police Stations have been instructed to meet these beat officers regularly to take note of the wellbeing of the elderly people.