St. Joseph’s Charity Home for destitute and aged persons has been functioning since 2017 in the Gugaiyanallur area of the Vellore district. After receiving reports that the home’s employees were violently assaulting the elderly residents, the then Vellore District Collector Raman ordered to ‘seal’ the home in 2018. Following that, the home, which had been shut down for four years, was apparently reopened in March by its administrator, after receiving orders from the court.
In this situation, a complaint has again been sent to the current District Collector Kumaravelpandian about the charity home where the elderly were being beaten and harassed. The District Collector ordered Vellore Revenue Commissioner Poongodi to conduct an inspection in the controversial home. On October 13, the officers led by the revenue commissioner went to the home and conducted an investigation. After the investigation, 69 elderly people were rescued and admitted to government hospitals for first aid.
Subsequently, the District Collector issued an order to lock and ‘seal’ St. Joseph Charity Home again. Accordingly, this morning the revenue department headed by Katpadi Tahsildar Jagatheeswaran went to the home and sealed it with the help of the Police who were also deployed for security.
During the sealing, a woman working at the home refused to leave and ran into the room and locked the door from the inside. After struggling for half an hour, the police broke the door and brought the woman out. Action has also been taken against the woman for preventing government employees from working. In addition, the revenue department officials have said that an appropriate investigation is being conducted to take legal action against the administrators running the home.
(With inputs from Vikatan)
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