An old age home in Noida where the elderly were allegedly tied up or locked up, denied regular meals and forced to sleep on filthy beds was raided on Thursday evening and the 39 inmates were rescued.

A joint team of the Uttar Pradesh state women’s commission, social welfare department and police raided the Anand Niketan Vridh Sewashram in Sector 55, sealed it and registered a criminal case against its management.

The authorities were, however, tightlipped on the charges invoked and the identity of the trustees and managers of the home. No arrests had been made by Friday evening.

The raid took place on a complaint from state women’s panel member Meenakshi Bharala, who had received information that many men and women inmates were shackled or locked up in their rooms for days.

"We found the hands of some of the inmates tied. An old man was locked in an isolated room, where he lay half-naked on a steel bed. Many women sat on urine-stained beds in a dormitory," Bharala told reporters.

Police sources unofficially confirmed the allegations.

Nilima Mishra, who identified herself as a trustee of the home to reporters, can be seen in a video of the raid, purportedly chastising Bharala for entering without her permission and untying the hands of a woman, who appeared unable to walk.

Bharala said the inmates were being shifted to other places. She alleged the home was being run illegally.

"Its management takes ₹2.5 lakh as a one-time donation and ₹6,000 per month from the inmates’ families. It has not a single trained nurse," she said.

An elderly man who said he had been at the home since 2023 provided reporters with a snapshot of the horrific conditions under which the inmates lived.

"All that the management did was provide us with a bed. They sometimes served food, which was of poor quality," he said, asking for anonymity.

"They never called a doctor if someone fell ill, and demanded money from us for every service. They misbehaved with us every day and never cleaned the beds."

The Sewashram’s website says it is "dedicated to the service of needy people aged 60 and above".

"Our aim is to provide every facility and opportunity to the old people in a homely atmosphere…. Homoeopathic and allopathic doctors are available here every day…. It (the home) depends entirely on donations received from society," it says.

Mishra told reporters the home was run legally.

"We have registered it with the government and run it honestly. We use several methods to control some violent old people, but we also care for them," she said.