A video has gone viral on social media featuring an isolated elderly woman living in an apartment in Tashkent’s Mirzo-Ulugbek district.
In the footage, the woman claimed that social workers had locked her inside without food or water, leaving her unable to leave the apartment. Furthermore, she alleged that they had shut off both her hot and cold water supply from the main shaft and removed the gas valve from her stove.
Following the uproar, the press service of the district mayor’s office issued a statement clarifying that the woman is enrolled in the "Step Toward an Active Life" program, through which she receives financial aid and home-based social care services.
The office strongly denied allegations that a social worker had failed to visit the woman for two weeks, maintaining that visits are conducted strictly according to an approved schedule. Officials stated that the utilities had not been cut off and that the pensioner possessed her own set of keys, which she likely misplaced due to worsening dementia.
"Due to age-related memory decline, the woman does not always recognize the people who come to visit her. For this reason, she keeps one set of keys, while the second remains with her assigned social worker. The pensioner’s bank card and expenses are fully regulated through an electronic monitoring system in compliance with the law. Additionally, a supplementary medical examination has been scheduled for her, and necessary medical steps will be taken based on the specialists' findings," the official statement read.
On July 30, it emerged that the district prosecutor’s office had taken control of the situation. According to the preliminary investigation, the woman, who was born in 1940, is registered at a local clinic with several chronic medical conditions.
Crucially, investigators discovered that ownership of the pensioner's apartment had been transferred to another individual through a notarized bill of sale signed at the end of September 2025. Consequently, the prosecutor's office has launched a criminal investigation into large-scale fraud. If convicted, the perpetrators face penalties ranging from hefty fines up to 600 BCVs (Base Calculating Value=440 thousand soums) to prison terms of 8 to 10 years.
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