If you are found harassing and ill-treating your elderly parents, beware- you could be slapped with criminal charges. Facing mental harassment and torture by her own son and daughter-in-law, for the past six months, an 80-year-old widow finally mustered courage and filed a complaint against them at Kashimira Police Station on Friday. The complainant's husband- a government employee had passed away after a brief illness in the year 2000.
Based on the complaint, the police swiftly registered an offence under section 506 (for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and section 24 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, against the couple. However, no arrests have been made so far. Apart from trying to kick her out from their home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple not only maltreated her, but also forced her to cook her own food, stated the senior citizen in her complaint to the police.
The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act prescribes imprisonment for a period of three months or Rs 5000 penalty or both for a person who disrespects or does not take care of his or her parents who are above 60 years of age. Further investigations were on.
