Stalked and swindled: Land mafia scout for Mumbai's elderly at parks, banks

An elderly man sits alone reading a newspaper in Kandivli. Frauds find easy targets in old people who are lonely

All they long for is a bit of care and attention in their sunset years. As senior citizens are left unloved by their ‘busy' near and dear ones, the land mafia enters the scene, scouting for prey at parks, hospitals and banks. In the third part of the ‘The old and the vulnerable' series, mid-day gets insights from activists and legal experts on protecting the rights of the elderly.

Residents associations said cons are constantly on the lookout for vulnerable people. "People do not have time to talk to each other. The young generation is busy on mobile phones even if they are at home and if the elderly people are alone, they do not have anyone to talk to them," said a neighbour of Marietta Fernandes whose road-facing land has been grabbed by the land mafia at Chuim village, Khar.

The land mafia has taken over Marietta Fernandes's bungalow built on over 1,800 sq ft at Chuim village in Khar

"The moment, elderly people are seen all alone in bank or hospital, the land mafia inch closer to them by initiating discussion as if they are good Samaritans. Then they approach them with food, sweet discussion, laughing session, etc., only to hide their nefarious plan to grab their assets," said Madhu Poplai of Pali Hill Residents Association.

Law has safeguards

Advocate Godfrey Pimenta said the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, has safeguards for senior citizens, though its provisions are neither followed strictly nor are known to the public. "The Act brings stepchildren, adoptive children, children-in-law, and legal guardians of minor children under the definition of children. Under the Act, the Maintenance Tribunal may direct children to pay a maximum of Rs 10,000 per month as maintenance to their parents," he said.

In case of non-compliance, the Tribunal may issue a warrant to erring children. "Failure to pay such fine may lead to imprisonment of up to one month, or until the payment is made," he said.

Godfrey Pimenta, advocate

Sharing his experience, Pimenta said, "I had an opportunity to file one such complaint for a senior citizen before the Sub Divisional Officer against his son for non-maintenance. The senior citizen [husband] was thrown out of his home by wife/son. After filing a complaint with the SDO, the matter was settled amicably with the wife/son agreeing to pay Rs 6000 per month."

Poor awareness

The ex-president of senior citizens alumni at Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work, Charles DSa, said there is little awareness of the Act at the grassroots level. "The PM should put up his photographs on this said Act and banners should be put up at least at ten locations at village panchayat level and wards in every city, post offices, ration shops, banks etc. There should be nodal officers for implementation of this Act at least at Taluka level. At present, the district collector is the nodal officer," he said.

In rural areas, DSa said, senior citizens cannot afford to take their grievances to the district headquarters. DSa has been representing one of the cases of land-grabbing at Kalina that mid-day covered extensively in 2019. DSa said, "Those who are alone, voiceless, marginalised, oppressed and suppressed are cheated by their acquaintances with the help of forged documents. Also, fake wills and fake sale deeds have become very common by the land mafia."

DSa said registered NGOs, ALM (Advanced Locality Management), trusts and senior citizens associations should be involved to help the elderly. Also, the Centre should come out with a white paper on the measures for the effective implementation of the Act, he said.

Mohit Chaturvedi, vice-president of Cuffe Parade Residents Association

"Judiciary should be sensitised to clear up litigations within 90 days as mentioned in the Consumer Protection Act. A separate tribunal or a judge should be available to handle these fast track court cases of senior citizens. Something like Children cases. At every police station, there should be separate 24-hour duty officers to handle senior citizens' complaints, even they should be allowed to lodge a complaint on phone, email, SMS, video call or any other modern technology," he said.

At the Goregaon East campus of Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work, they have formed a senior citizens association that holds training sessions on empowering Mumbai's elderly, he said. Activists said resident bodies at elite localities like Pali Hill, Cuffe Parade, Marine Drive and Kalina are more aware of the ways to safeguard the multi-crore properties of senior citizens living alone. Most seniors in these areas have got their names registered with the senior citizen cells of local police stations from where cops regularly visit them.

Prakash Jain, president of Marine Drive Senior Citizens Association, said, "There is a rare case of land mafia usurping prime properties in Marine Drive because here people are more educated and aware of the law. But I have learnt that this issue is rampant in suburbs including Khar, Bandra and Mahim because the price of these properties has got multiplied manifold," said Jain. "There are 300 buildings in my area where the number of senior citizens is around 3,000. I have kept all of them safe and sound in their properties where the land mafias cannot think of making any ground to enter," he Jain.

Mohit Chaturvedi, vice-president of Cuffe Parade Residents Association, said, "We have done an extensive campaign throughout Cuffe Parade with regards to the senior citizens who are staying alone. We made a list of such vulnerable people and handed it over to the police station in a very confidential manner."

Chaturvedi said the chairmen and secretaries of housing societies in their area have been urged to alert the association if they need any help over senior citizens. He said the Cuffe Parade police regularly visit the senior citizens. Secretary of Pali Hill Residents Association Madhu Poplai said there are nearly 150 senior citizens in Pali Hill and all of them are being taken care of by the joint efforts of local police and the association. "In case, tiffin does not reach a senior citizen, they call the police or our association. We make sure that home-cooked food is provided to them on time."

Police speak

To help the elderly living alone in the city, the Mumbai police have put in place a mechanism. The senior citizens have been told to get in touch with the police if they are feeling scared, unwell, or if they are being troubled by anyone. The senior citizens need to register themselves with the local police station by filling a simple form. If required, cops will visit them daily, said S Chaitanya, DCP and spokesperson of Mumbai police.

The IPS officer said, "We are helping every senior citizen who is living alone. We also share the number of the beat officer with senior citizens. If they need any kind of help, our officer will reach the spot immediately. Every day, Mumbai police receive many calls from senior citizens who are scared or need groceries or medicines. Our officers will get them all the things that they need. If anyone needs help, they can call on 100."

A beat officer who did not wish to be identified said, "We have a list of registered people who live alone and most of them senior citizens. We get many calls from them and have to visit the spot on every call. Sometimes, we don't get the time for a personal visit but we make sure to call them and inquire about their well-being. We try our best to help them. At times, we even spend money from our pocket to help them."