Kolkata safest city for elderly too
A few days ago, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) published its annual report for 2020, which identified Kolkata as the safest city in the country for the third year running. Going through the voluminous report in some detail, it turns out that our city is also the safest for senior citizens.
This will no doubt come as a huge relief for the many thousands of Kolkatans who live away from the city, with elderly parents and relatives living in Kolkata. The NCRB data shows that Kolkata saw 20 crimes against senior citizens in 2020, an increase from 14 in 2019, but still the lowest among 19 cities in India with a population above 20 lakh. In comparison, Delhi recorded 906 crimes against senior citizens, Mumbai reported 844, and Chennai 321. No figures appear to be available for Ghaziabad, Patna and Kanpur.
Kolkata reported 14 cases of cheating in 2020 in which senior citizens were victims. This is a significant rise from last year. “Though the number is still minuscule compared to Delhi (80) or Bengaluru (49), the police have decided to concentrate on massive awareness campaigns.
Kolkata’s chargesheet rate (96.1) is also the country’s best, followed by Indore (93.9) and Kochi (92.6). The city’s pendency (backlog with respect to disposal) rate of 41.2 is the second lowest in the country, behind only Hyderabad (36.9).
Officials of Kolkata Police have pointed to their various outreach programmes - particularly during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, when police personnel diligently visited the residences of senior citizens under their jurisdiction to see if they needed help - as a major reason for the impressive record.
In all, the city witnessed four murders and two dacoities against senior citizens last year. In comparison, Delhi saw 15 murders and 58 robberies and Mumbai recorded 12 murders and 29 robberies. “Our Pronam initiative (launched in June 2010 for senior citizens living alone in the city) was a long-term success, the fact that we could reach the doorsteps of the 60-plus age group helped in confidence-building,” an officer has been reported as telling the media.
Less happily, however, Kolkata reported 14 cases of cheating in 2020 in which senior citizens were victims. This is a significant rise from last year. “Though the number is still minuscule compared to Delhi (80) or Bengaluru (49), the police have decided to concentrate on massive awareness campaigns. This will include offline campaigns too, as senior citizens are often not accustomed to technology. Helplines will be launched for quick dissemination of information,” an officer told the media.
The only area of concern is that the courts have been severely affected by the pandemic, and not a single conviction was secured in cases where the victims were above 60. As of now, there are as many as 111 cases pending in which the victims are senior citizens. Also, of the 20 cases registered in 2020, only four accused were arrested.
The NCRB data shows that Kolkata saw 20 crimes against senior citizens in 2020, an increase from 14 in 2019, but still the lowest among 19 cities in India with a population above 20 lakh. In comparison, Delhi recorded 906 crimes against senior citizens, Mumbai reported 844, and Chennai 321.
Overall, Bengal has reported 344 cases of crime against senior citizens, a drop from the 353 in 2019. Of these, 12 cases were linked to murder and 19 were of attempt to murder. Three cases involved rape and assault on women and 42 were linked to cheating and forgery.
Kolkata Police has now asked beat officers to visit homes where the elderly live alone and prepare a database of their contact details. Senior citizens are also being advised to instal CCTV cameras at home, with the police helping them identify possible locations where the cameras may be set up.
