With 171 cases of murder involving elderly persons, Tamil Nadu has topped the country in crimes against senior citizens last year. Statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveal that the State with a population of 75.1 lakh senior citizens reported 173 deaths in 2014. Uttar Pradesh with a population of 1.54 crore senior citizens reported 170 cases of murder in which 174 persons lost their lives.
Tamil Nadu was again on top in attempt to murder senior citizens: 64 cases under Section 307 of IPC. According to a senior police official, a majority of the victims could have been home-alone senior citizens. The motive in such cases usually is murder for gain or property related crimes.
Though there is a helpline for the elderly functioning in Tamil Nadu since 2004, the service is mainly for the rescue and rehabilitation of senior citizens abandoned by their family.
The ‘1253’ helpline jointly managed by the Chennai Police and HelpAge India mostly receives calls about abandoned or destitute elderly people.
Police initiative
Following a few murders of senior citizens, the Chennai Police, a couple of months ago, introduced a system where senior citizens in distress could seek the assistance of police by long-pressing a single digit on their mobile phones.
Overall, Tamil Nadu recorded 2,121 crimes against senior citizens, including extortion and cheating.
In southern states, Tamil Nadu topped with 1,805 murders and 2,922 attempts to murder in 2014. This was closely followed by Karnataka with 1,636 murders and 2,225 attempts to murders. The State reported 2,657 unidentified bodies that were recovered and inquest conducted. Tamil Nadu also had the highest number of Dalit murders in 2014 with 72 deaths. Andhra Pradesh recorded 34 such murders and Karnataka 33.
When it came to the total number of cognizable offences in 2014, Tamil Nadu reported 1,93,200 cases, making up 6.8 per cent of the national figure. Kerala topped the southern states with 2,06,789 cases.
Recidivism (convicted criminal repeating crimes) was also on the higher side in Tamil Nadu.
Of the 2,61,812 persons arrested for various offences, 2,43,142 were fresh offenders. Among the 18,670 suspects who came under the recidivism category, 688 were involved in crimes for the third time.
Though there is a helpline for the elderly in Tamil Nadu since 2004, the service is mainly for rescue and rehabilitation of those abandoned
