Cuttack, July 24: For 64-year-old Bishnu Mohandas Samanta, who stays at Kesharpur Canal Road here, installing closed-circuit television cameras around the house is not enough to assure the safety of wife Usha Kiran and himself.

The series of crimes in last two months and the twin robbery cases - one at the residence of a retired judge at Markatnagar on May 29 and another at a cinema owner's house in Madhupatna on July 19 - have triggered panic among the senior residents, who stay alone.

Senior citizens, who often become easy targets for goons, have pressed for special security measures by the police.

The issue of security was discussed yesterday during the regular crime review meeting held by the cops.

"We will soon request the cops to conduct a survey among the elderly as only 1,400 people have so far been registered with the senior citizen cell," said Samanta.

Samanta added that there was an urgent requirement to identity such citizens who stay alone, so that the cops could focus on their security.

Many senior citizens believe that the police should come up with a mobile application for the elderly, similar to that introduced for the security of women in distress in the twin cities. Such a mobile application would come handy for the senior residents. They could send an alert to the nearest police station in case of emergencies.

Though a senior citizen cell has been set up by the police to look into the grievances and safety aspect of the elderly people, it has failed to serve the purpose so far.

A senior citizen said that despite provision, the nodal officers of each police station would not visit them even once in a month, due to the lack of manpower in the police station. The cells were initially set up with 60 registered persons under five police stations in Cuttack in 2009.

The number of registered senior citizens rose to 126 in 2013 while there were around 1,400 persons registered with the special cell at 15 police stations in the city.

"If criminals can commit robbery at the residence of a retired judge by tying the family members up, how can we feel safe, as our children are also staying outside?" said Mahanadi Vihar resident Umakant Das, who is 67 years old.

Das added that the police patrolling had been intensified after the two robberies.

However, the patrol vans concentrate on the main roads while no visible security measures have been undertaken around several residential colonies. A senior police official, however, claimed that the nodal officers had already been asked to visit the houses of registered senior citizens at least once a month.

"We have already issued identity cards to the senior citizens and provided the important telephone numbers of nodal officers and senior officers for immediate assistance," said deputy police commissioner Sanjeev Arora.

Arora added that steps had already been taken to tighten the night patrols around the houses of the elderly in the city.