Chennai : Eighty-six elderly inmates of St Joseph Hospice, a home for dying destitute, were on Monday rescued from the facility and the rest 255 will also be shifted out of the controversial old age home located at Salavakkam in Chengalpattu district.

Investigators are looking into allegations of ill treatment of elderly inmates, denial of medical treatment and also beatings, said a source who was part of the investigating team that visited the facility.

Villagers surrounding the Hospice have been protesting against the facility, which they alleged was being used for organ trade with organs being harvested from the dead. This is something that is denied by the management of the facility which says that it was a ploy to defame the Hospice.

In fact, the lid on the whole thing was blown by the accidental rescue of an old woman who was shrieking for help when was being transported in a van, with another old man and a dead body on last Tuesday.

The woman was identified as 71year old Annamalai and the old man as Selvaraj (71). The dead body was identified as that of Vijayakumar.

The driver of the van had fled.

The villagers allege that the old age persons brought to the home were beaten up and left to die. After they died, they were neither cremated nor buried, but their organs harvested the villagers allege.

A senior official who visited the spot on Monday said the idea is to vacate the old age home. Today 86 inmates were freed and sent to different orphanages. The other 255 will be examined by a team of doctors and necessary action will be taken, he said.