Two senior citizens fall prey to crimes like murder, dacoity and robbery every three days in Karnataka, a statistic that shatters the benign elder-friendly image the state otherwise showcases. Even more alarming is the fact that Bengaluru, that once flaunted the tag of Pensioners' Paradise, tops the state in crimes against the elderly, underlining the fact that the city is anything but safe for its seniors. With urban agglomerations proliferating across the state, Karnataka is grappling with the issue of security of its elderly. And with socio-economic factors increasingly pushing them into isolation, they are becoming all the more vulnerable, say police officers. Murder of senior citizens accounted for nearly 8% of the total murders reported in the state in 2014 (124 out of 1,636). According to Census 2011, the elderly comprise about 8.4% of Karnataka's population of 61 million. Since last month, four senior citizens have been murdered in three separate incidents in Bengaluru. All four were living alone. A couple staying in a building in Fraser Town was killed by an electri cian and his friend who were seeking loan from them. The couple's son was away in the US. In the second instance, an elderly woman who had come to take meditation classes in Bengaluru was killed in her home. Her killers are yet to be identified. In the third case, an elderly widow was allegedly killed by here relatives for gain; her techie son was staying separately.

"In most cases, the culprit is someone known to the senior citizen.It's very difficult to prevent such murders," said a senior police officer.

"Criminals keep an eye on senior citizens for a long time and only then strike. Constant presence of other people around them can act as a deterrent," he added.

Often, a combination of reasons pushes senior citizens to live on their own. Sometimes, their children could be out of the country or even staying in the same city but separately because they want to stay close to their workplace. "Some of these reasons are impossible to address," added the police officer.

Police claim though beat patrol officers are asked to keep tabs on senior citizens in their limits it proves to be too difficult a task. "We try to encourage people to visit their elderly neighbours often and policemen themselves are making an attempt. However, the fact remains that an elderly couple or citizen make for an easy target," the officer said.