Bhubaneswar, Sept. 6: The robbery in the house of an elderly couple at Gandamunda yesterday has exposed how unsafe it is for senior citizens to live alone in the city.

Although the police have been conducting frequent interactive sessions with senior citizens, residents allege that the cops are yet to come up with concrete measures to ensure their safety.

Four armed men robbed gold ornaments weighing around 120 grams from the house of retired government employee Subash Chandra Prusty, 71, and wife Sradhanjali, 61, at Gandamunda yesterday.

The president of the Federation of Senior Citizens' Association of Odisha, Krupasindhu Sahoo, said the police should reach out frequently to the elderly living alone.

"The victim of yesterday's incident has told the media that the police didn't take his wife for a medical test even six hours after the incident. The responsibility of the police towards senior citizens should not end with registration. They should frequently visit them to find out about their grievances," said Sahoo. More than 75,000 senior citizens live in the city.

The murder of a septuagenarian doctor couple at their Chandrasekharpur residence on November 15 last year had also sparked hue and cry with senior citizens urging the police to ensure their safety. The bodies of Prafulla Mishra, 72, and his wife Sushama Mishra, 70, were found from their residence early in the morning shortly after they had returned home from a nearby temple. Investigation revealed that loot was the primary motive and the domestic help was the mastermind.

Police commissioner Y.B. Khurania said that despite lack of manpower, the senior citizens' cell at various police stations were functioning properly.

"We plan to appoint one constable at each senior citizen cell as second nodal officer," said Khurania. At present, a sub-inspector is the nodal officer of the cell.