E-Paper
Chandigarh’s senior citizens most vulnerable to fraudsters
The city was followed by Delhi with a rate of 9.2 and Maharashtra at 7.5. The national rate for this crime is at 2.2 incidents per lakh population.
Often known as the best city to retire in, Chandigarh saw the highest rate of cheating cases against senior citizens (those aged above 60) in 2019, a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) revealed.
As per the report titled, Crimes in India 2019, Chandigarh, with a population of 70,000 senior citizens and seven cases under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, had a rate of 10.4 in 2019. The rate of crime is calculated by taking into account the number of incidents per lakh population. The city was followed by Delhi with a rate of 9.2 and Maharashtra at 7.5. The national rate for this crime is at 2.2 incidents per lakh population.
Other crimes
The city also has the second highest rate of thefts against senior citizens with 29.8 incidents per one lakh population after Delhi at 48.5. Chandigarh has the third highest rate of total crimes committed against seniors. At 74.5 incidents per lakh population, it is third after Delhi at 93.8 and Gujarat at 85.4. A total of 50 crimes were committed against seniors in the city in 2019, which came down from 64 in 2018. With 34 cases pending from previous years, the Chandigarh police investigated 84 in all in 2019, out of which chargesheet was submitted in 17 cases. As many as 44 cases are still pending.
Seniors living alone most vulnerable
Former president and founding member of the Chandigarh Senior Citizens Association, Brigadier Keshav Chandra (retd) said, “Chandigarh has a large number of senior citizens whose children live in other cities, thus leaving them vulnerable. Seniors must make it a rule to read all documents thoroughly before signing it. Banks and the administration must also ensure that forms and other documents can be made more accessible for seniors as the small fonts are sometimes not very legible for them.”
Chandra further added that the police should also educate seniors about the various ways that fraudsters can cheat them of their money or property.
Talking about the services that the police are providing to the seniors, the public relations officer of the Chandigarh police, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Charanjit Singh Virk said, “During the lockdown, we have prepared lists of how many seniors are living in a sector and where they are living. The beat staff have provided them with their contact numbers, and they have been asked to check with them regularly to ensure that police remains approachable for the seniors.”
President of Second Innings Association in Chandigarh, RK Garg added, “Going digital has been detrimental for seniors. It is possible for fraudsters to access their contact numbers over their social media and defraud them. Stricter security is needed for such transactions and seniors need to be made aware of how people can cheat them by asking them details about their bank accounts, mutual fund investments and insurance policies.”
