Several youths are turning down elderly parents for sake of property. This startling fact came to the fore through several complaints lodged by the parents with senior citizens' cell of the police. In several complaints, the elderly people said that they have been turned down by their children whom they brought up with a hope that the children would take care of them in senility (old age).
The Senior Citizens' Cell, established with an aim to help senior citizens, has received 368 complaints from the senior citizens during the past three months. Several of these related to property disputes in which parents alleged that their children were not taking care of them.
Some of the elderly complainants said that the children were forcing them to sell off their property.
They (parents) said that if they didn't comply with their demand, their approach towards them change and they didn't take care of them. Senior citizens are more victimized by their wards and other family members than health problems. KC Bhatt, in-charge of the cell, said that SCC was trying its best to extend help to the elderly citizens by extending solution to their problems.
He said on an average SCC received around four complaints daily from the senior citizens. The department has set up two helpline numbers 9760585037 and 7895865222 in the cell for senior citizens. Police personnel are sent to their houses to look into the matter soon after receiving the complaints.
An elderly couple from Chhirbagh area visited the cell on Thursday with a complaint against their elder daughter who was allegedly harassing them mentally and was not allowing them to construct a room on the first floor of the building for his second son. They requested the police to look into the matter and solve it.
A senior citizen in a complaint with the cell alleged that his drunkard son calls him names everyday. A dozen of callers alleged that their sons were pressurizing them to sell their properties for funds. Some senior citizen said that their daughter in laws did not treat them well and ignore them very often.
Bhatt said that the cell try to solve their dispute through counseling of their kin who were not dealing well with their elderly parents. He said that police have limited power and they work within their jurisdiction. If cases are not resolved through counseling, senior citizens are advised to approach the court.
Apart from property disputes, complaints related to shortage of supply of lPG cylinders from the agency, failing to submit electricity, telephone and water bill after their repeated visit to the concerned offices, traffic congestions, noise pollution, disputes with neighbour and others were also received in the cell.