Elderly home under scanner after inmate goes missing

According to officials, the inmates were found living in unhygienic conditions without medical care or basic facilities, raising serious questions about the functioning of the privately-run shelter and oversight on the part of the agencies that referred patients there.

PUNE: Twelve elderly people – all inmates of Asak Vrudhashram Anathashram, a shelter home for the elderly, orphans and mentally ill individuals – were shifted by the social justice and special assistance department to a government-aided old age home on Thursday after Asak Vrudhashram was found operating in shockingly inhumane conditions. The 12 inmates – many of whom required urgent medical care – had been living in makeshift huts at Ghorpadi for nearly a month after the shelter home vacated its rented premises in Phursungi due to the lack of funds, officials said.

Elderly home under scanner after inmate goes missing

According to officials, the inmates were found living in unhygienic conditions without medical care or basic facilities, raising serious questions about the functioning of the privately-run shelter and oversight on the part of the agencies that referred patients there. In such cases, the inmates are referred to or sent by the Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) police department, the officials said.

Asak Vrudhashram Anathashram - registered with the Charity Commissionerate, Pune, in 2020 – is run by Rugna Aadhar Foundation. Last month, the founder of Rugna Aadhar Foundation, Dadasaheb Gaikwad, abruptly vacated the shelter home’s rented premises in Phursungi after the landlord raised the rent. With no alternate facility, Gaikwad, along with 16 elderly people, shifted to temporary huts erected in Ghorpadi where they have been staying for the past 36 days. Gaikwad is demanding 40,000 square feet of land from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on lease or a building to run the shelter home. He claims living in these huts is a form of protest although he maintains that the elderly people living with him in these huts for over a month are not facing any hardship or inconvenience.

Of the 16 elderly people, 12 were rescued by the social justice and special assistance department on Thursday after the inhumane conditions in which these people were living were brought to the department’s attention.

Deepa Mudhol Munde, commissioner, social welfare department, said that swift action was taken after the matter was brought to the department’s attention. “Social welfare minister Sanjay Shirsath took serious note of the issue and ordered immediate action. We visited the location and spoke to the elderly and Gaikwad. We shifted 12 elderly individuals to a government-aided old age home, where they will receive proper care and medical support. The department always takes responsibility for such vulnerable individuals, especially those who have no family to care for them,” she said.

Patient sent to shelter home by SGH goes missing

A mentally ill elderly individual, Purohit, was admitted to the Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) on September 23, 2024, for treatment. Later, the man was discharged from the hospital and sent to Rugna Aadhar Foundation on December 4, 2024. The patient stayed at the shelter home for one-and-a-half months after which he was again admitted to the SGH as an orphan. Now however, the individual’s family, SGH and Rugna Aadhar Foundation are unaware of the patient’s whereabouts.

Pushkar Tuljapurkar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and relative of the missing patient, has complained to the Pune police demanding action. Pune police and the Charity Commissionerate of Pune have initiated a probe into the incident, officials said.

Tuljapurkar, has also written to the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis and medical education minister, Hasan Mushrif, demanding a detailed account of Purohit’s medical records, treatment history, and current status.

“The family has received no updates, either written or verbal, about the patient’s condition since the day he was admitted. Despite repeated follow-ups, the hospital failed to provide any information about whether he is alive, undergoing treatment, or otherwise. For the past two months, I have been running from pillar to post in search of our relative. If this is the treatment meted out to a public representative’s family, one can only imagine the plight of ordinary citizens,” said Tuljapurkar.

Meanwhile, Gaikwad told Hindustan Times, “For the past eight years, we have been demanding land from the authorities for the shelter home. We spend around ₹50k for running the shelter home, and we receive no financial aid from the government. All the people at our home are happy, and they don’t even want to go to any other shelter home. Despite living in the huts, they have no inconvenience and are living happily.”

About the missing patient, Gaikwad said, “The patient was with us for over one-and-a-half months but was later admitted to SGH for treatment. However, we don’t know what has happened after that.”

Shankar Mugawe, superintendent of the social welfare department at SGH, said, “The patients are sent to the foundation as it is a registered foundation with the Charity Commissioner. There are around 15 such foundations that are inspected before sending the patients. Once they are sent, it is the responsibility of the foundation. The action in this regard can be taken by the charity commissioner.”