GURGAON: Behind the closed doors of an apartment at Ridgewood Estate, the muffled cries of a nonagenarian man and his octogenarian wife have stirred neighbours into action, making it a rare case of a community seeking the state's intervention to guarantee care, safety and dignity for the allegedly abandoned couple.
Left in the care of two untrained attendants by their son who is abroad, residents of the society, also members of Ridgewood Estate Condominium Association (RECA), said they repeatedly tried to contact the son, but their appeals fell on deaf ears. The association then approached Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC), which took cognisance immediately and ordered a comprehensive medical, psychological, and social assessment of the couple by govt.
The couple has been living here for three years, when the son purchased the flat and moved them, transferring power of attorney to his father, according to RECA. However, two caregivers working in day and night shifts became the couple's only connection with the outside world soon after. Concerned neighbours visited, making inquiries and offering assistance, but were turned away at the door.
Residents said the son regularly made online payments for maintenance charges for the flat, but the association had no information about his whereabouts except his phone number and email ID in the society's records. None recollected having seen him in the compound either.
"All we know is that he lives somewhere abroad. Earlier, a lady would visit the elderly couple, but she stopped coming a few months ago. We requested the son to visit his parents or arrange some help for them, but to no avail. The woman is bedridden, and the man's cries of distress echo in the corridor. It's deeply distressing," said Kittu Mathur, the association secretary.
Mathur said they had no information about the couple, not even their names. The couple have never attended any society event. Last month, an elderly neighbour ventured in seeing the door ajar and discovered the house to be in a complete mess, according to RECA members. A few days later, the son allegedly responded with a threat to lodge a police complaint against the neighbour for trespass.
Lalit Batra, the HHRC chairperson, expressed deep concern over the couple's prolonged mental and physical suffering, calling it a blatant violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to live with dignity. The rights panel emphasised that such situations were not merely "private family matters" but public human rights concerns. "Failure to ensure essential medical care, emotional support, and regular supervision reflects gross negligence. It amounts to a breach of not only the basic human rights of the senior citizens themselves but also of the larger community that has been involuntarily subjected to such trauma," the rights panel observed.
Describing the situation as "alarmingly tragic", HHRC noted that the elderly should receive full family support, especially when they require love, care, and medical intervention the most. "Society and the state have a shared responsibility to intervene when the elderly are deprived of due care and dignity," the commission said.
Batra ordered immediate intervention in the case, asking the deputy commissioner to form a multi-disciplinary medical and welfare committee. This team, comprising the police commissioner, sub-divisional magistrate, civil surgeon, and district social welfare officer, must now assess the couple's condition and submit a comprehensive care plan before the next hearing on July 3. Puneet Arora, the commission's protocol officer, assured strict compliance by all authorities.