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Three rescued from Noida old age home after abuse video goes viral
Three elderly residents were rescued from an unlicensed old age home in Noida after a video showed a caretaker abusing a woman. Police are investigating.
Three elderly residents—two men and a woman—were rescued from a privately-run old age home in Noida’s Sector 55 late Thursday night after a disturbing video surfaced online showing one of the caretakers tying up the hands of an 80-year-old woman. The rescue operation, carried out jointly by the State Women’s Commission and Noida Police, has exposed alarming instances of abuse, neglect, and possible illegality in the home’s functioning.
So far, no arrests have been made. Police said they have not yet registered an FIR in the case. Police said that they will file an FIR after they receive a complaint form the State Women’s Commission. Dr Meenakshi Bharala, a member of the commission, said she will file a complaint after all the elderly inmates of the old age home are safely relocated. The district social officer has told the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate that the old age home’s managing trustee has been given a week to respond, after which an FIR will be registered.
Bharala said she was alerted to the video on Thursday morning. “The footage showed a woman—clearly frail and distressed—being restrained by a staffer. Her hands were tied, and she appeared visibly terrified. I immediately reached out to the district administration and police to trace the location. We learned that the home was being run from a residential property in Block C of Sector 55,” she told HT.
Later that evening, Bharala, along with additional deputy commissioner of police (women’s safety) Manisha Singh, conducted a surprise inspection. What they found behind the locked doors was grim: 39 elderly people, all reportedly abandoned by their families, living in conditions that Bharala described as “terrifying”.
Residents were confined to their rooms for most of the day, denied the dignity of conversation or companionship, and in some cases, forced to relieve themselves on their beds due to lack of care. “There was barely any staff. Just four people were appointed to look after 39 senior citizens. No medical support, no basic hygiene, no accountability,” Bharala said.
One of those found locked inside was a retired doctor. Another, the woman seen in the video, had been admitted to the facility just 20 days ago by her brother, a Noida resident. She was identified as a reiki practitioner and had been assigned a personal caretaker—who was seen in the viral video tying her up.
Multiple residents told authorities that verbal abuse was common and that they were often prevented from speaking to each other. Some said they were punished or ignored if they raised complaints.
The facility, authorities now say, was operating entirely without approval. “When we asked for the paperwork to show this home was legally sanctioned, the staff had nothing. No licence, no registration, no medical personnel. Yet they were charging a hefty sum to run what was essentially a prison for the old and abandoned,” said Bharala.
Preliminary police findings revealed that the trust running the old age home charged residents an initial sum of ₹2.5 lakh as a “donation”, and collected a monthly fee ranging from ₹6,000 to ₹8,000.
So far, three residents—those in the most critical condition—have been shifted to a government-run care facility in Dankaur, Greater Noida. The rest are still residing at the Sector 55 home, but plans are underway to move them to government homes in Noida and Greater Noida before the premises are sealed.
ADCP Manisha Singh confirmed that no permission had been obtained from the relevant department to run the home. “We found evidence of mistreatment, confinement, and financial exploitation. We will register a formal case as soon as a complaint is lodged,” she said.
The district social welfare officer, Satish Kumar, submitted an action taken report to the Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate on Friday. According to the report, a notice has been served to the alleged managing trustee, who lives in New Delhi, asking him to furnish documents authorising the operation of the home. If he fails to comply within a week, authorities will invoke provisions of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, and initiate prosecution.
