The threat within

As the annual NCRB report puts Delhi in the top spot in crimes against the elderly in 2020, the old vulnerabilities remain: senior citizens are most at risk from their closest circle, be it the maid, watchman, or kith and kin

“I asked her to accompany us to my sister-in-law’s house that day, but she refused and said she would go some other time. That is what cost her life,” Sunita (35) said, referring to her 65-year-old mother-in-law Rajwati, who was stabbed to death by a man inside her house in north Delhi’s Burari in June.

The accused, Shubham (27), used to work at Sunita’s husband Pramod’s shop and knew that the couple had left their home in the evening, leaving Rajwati alone. “Around 9 p.m, he came to our house and asked for a glass of water. Soon after my mother-in-law went inside, Shubham entered the house and began opening the cupboards in one of the rooms,” Sunita said.