Police have started installing CCTV cameras at the homes of several elderly people living in New Alipore to capture on camera any untoward incident or movement of any intruder inside the house.

In the past few months, several elderly residents have been killed and robbed either by masons or guards who have been entrusted to provide security to the elderly.

At least 100 elderly residents of New Alipore — who are all Pronam members — have agreed to install CCTV cameras in their homes with the help of Calcutta police.

Pronam is a Calcutta police initiative to maintain contact with elderly citizens through the respective police stations.

New Alipore resident and Pronam member, Jayati Goswami, 69, said: “Last week during a meeting with cops, New Alipore police station officers proposed the idea to install CCTV cameras at our homes to record any kind of suspicious activity. I immediately agreed. And the very next day the police installed the camera at the landing of the staircase of my house.”

The infra-red enabled cameras that are being installed on behalf of New Alipore police station are available for senior citizens at a subsidised price, said an officer.

A normal camera will cost Rs 2,500, including the installation charges. Else, for residents like Goswami, who have Wi-Fi connection at home and got the camera connected with their Wi-Fi set, the charge is Rs 3,500.

“It is extremely helpful because I can monitor the CCTV and even make its camera rotate at 360 degrees with my phone. I feel very safe with the police by my side,” she said.

A senior officer in the community policing wing said the project that had been started at New Alipore police station area would be replicated across the city if senior citizens respond positively.

Paritosh Kumar Chatterjee, 84, too had been feeling secure since the installation of the camera inside his living room.

Chatterjee, who is a resident of Block P in New Alipore lives in the ground floor of a four-storey building with his wife Sati, 72. Both are members of Pronam.

“What we see is news and read in paper (newspaper) is scary. The police have installed this camera and linked it with the television. If we want to see the recording, we can see it on the television,” Chatterjee said.

Calcutta had witnessed multiple incidents of elderly citizens being killed and robbed in the past few weeks.

Last week an elderly couple were killed by a mason for money at their Netaji Nagar home while a few months ago, an elderly woman was killed for her property by a security guard and gardener of the building. A similar incident was reported a few weeks ago when an elderly woman was killed by a carpenter at her Behala home.