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Lonely+careless elder is a dead elder

The murder of Punita Sukhwani, 68, by her maid at her Breach Candy apartment on Thursday once again exposes the vulnerability of the elderly to the city's dangers.

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The murder of Punita Sukhwani, 68, by her maid at her Breach Candy apartment on Thursday once again exposes the vulnerability of the elderly to the city's dangers.

Resident associations blame lack of security initiatives from societies for the repeated attacks on senior citizens.

The biggest mistake committed by the elderly is not registering servants with the police station. Nobody from the Sarnarth building where Sukhwani lived had registered domestic help and senior citizens with the police.

"We appeal to the citizens to register servants, watchmen and drivers with the police. Giving their details and photographs could help us prevent such attacks," said Anil Kumbhare, deputy commissioner of police, zone II. "We go door-to-door and request people to register their domestic help, but they do not cooperate," said an officer from the Gamdevi police station.

"I do not know about this case, but usually people do not want to register servants with police. If you do not do this, you are asking  for trouble. All murders indicate that," said Indrani Malkani, a resident of Malabar Hill and trustee of V Citizens Action Network. "In our area 50% are senior citizens and we have done the necessary audit with the police."

Honorary secretary of the Napean Sea Road Citizen's Forum Neelu Gidvani agrees.   

"The police keep telling co-operative societies to report all new servants, but residents turn a deaf ear to their plea. Many people hire servants, but do not take adequate precautions," she said. "We go to the extent of preparing passes for courier boys to enter our building."

It is essential to check the background of servants before hiring them.

"When servants quit jobs or are sacked, residents get desperate. They do not even check why he was sacked elsewhere or carry out a background check before hiring him. They must consult neighbours and check if they know anything about the person," said Sunayana Sadrangani, member of Marine Drive Residents Association, D-Road.

"If residents are hesitant to reach out to the police, they should at least keep a record of servants in their societies. We keep a tab on courier boys as well," she added.

At Peddar Road, which has a large population of senior citizens, most societies have recorded the details with the police station as well as the society.

"We keep photographs and addresses with our office too. It helps us in other ways as well. If there is a problem with a servant, we can seek the help of someone else. Due to lack of space and with children working abroad, many senior citizens are living alone. Therefore, it is important to have such details and keep a tab on those who visit the society," said Veena Singhal, chairperson of the Peddar Road Residents Association and a senior citizen.

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