Forty-two elderly people were rescued from an “illegal” old-age home in Noida after a police raid uncovered disturbing conditions, including some women being tied up, several residents found without clothes, and others confined in “basement-like” rooms, officials said.
The raid, carried out on Thursday in the presence of members from the Uttar Pradesh State Women Commission and the State Welfare Department, revealed the old-age home to be in a deplorable state, officials added.
Meenakshi Bharala, a member of the women’s commission, identified the institution as Anand Niketan Vridha Seva Ashram, located at C-5, Sector 55, Noida, and confirmed that it was operating illegally.
“During the raid, an elderly woman was found tied up, while other elderly people were locked in basement-like rooms,” Bharala said.
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She further noted that some men were completely without clothes and several elderly women were discovered in a half-clad condition.
“This old-age home is completely illegal. There were 42 elderly people living in the ashram. Three of them will be shifted to a facility run by the social welfare department on Friday, and the remaining residents will be relocated to other government-approved old-age homes within the next five days,” Bharala stated.
She also said that the old-age home would be sealed with assistance from the administration.
Meanwhile, the management of the ashram attempted to justify their actions by claiming that certain residents had been tied up to prevent self-harm. According to them, some elderly people had previously hurt themselves, defecated, or thrown waste at others, and tying them up was allegedly a precautionary measure for their own safety.
