Another constable succumbs to Covid; Mumbai Police toll is 14

A 52-year-old head constable from Malwani police station died due to Covid-19 at a hospital in Kandivli (West) on Thursday afternoon, taking the total death toll in Mumbai Police to 14. This is the first death to be reported from north region of the Mumbai Police, which comprises of areas from Goregaon to Dahisar and have reported comparatively less cases than other regions.

Jagdeo Kalapad, senior inspector of Malwani police station, confirmed the development.

The deceased, who continued to work despite being above 50 years as he reportedly did not have health issues, had been given general and patrolling duty. On May 18, the head constable had high fever and stopped reporting to duty and was subsequently admitted to Shivam hospital in Kandivali (W) on May 20.

However, he took the Covid test at Sir JJ Hospital only on May 27, seven days after he fell sick. His result for Covid-19 came positive on Thursday and he died soon after around 3pm.

The deceased constable’s wife too has contracted the disease and is undergoing treatment. The constable has two daughters, who have also been tested for Covid-19.

“Two more officers and five to six constables from Malwani police station have contracted the virus. We are going to quarantine more constables after this incident. We may have to seal the police station,” said a police officer from Malwani police station.

A total of 1,303 Mumbai Police personnel have tested positive till Thursday night. Of the infected personnel, 395 have been discharged after recovery. Another 4,448 cops have been quarantined. Pranaya Ashok, DCP (ops) and spokesperson for Mumbai Police, confirmed the development.

Cases in state police cross 2,000 mark

The number of police personnel in the 2 lakh strong Maharashtra Police force infected by Covid-19 stood at 2,095 on Thursday.

Of the 2,095 personnel infected, 1,859 are from the constabulary while 236 are of the rank of sub-inspectors and above. The force has seen 23 of its men succumb to the virus. Around 6,000 police personnel who came in touch with those infected have been quarantined.

Wednesday saw 131 new cases of Covid-19 being reported among the state force’s personnel. “But the fear the virus had created initially has gone now,” said a senior IPS officer, requesting anonymity. To date 897 personnel have recovered after being infected with the virus. “The initial days saw a lot of panic in the ranks. But now men have understood that if their immune system is strong, the virus will not affect them in an adverse manner. Young officers are more than willing to work,” said Vinayak Deshmukh, assistant inspector general of police (law and order).

Deshmukh confirmed the number of cases and said, “To ensure we do not face operational issues due to manpower crunch, we have taken help from 10,000 personnel of the home guard. We had also asked for 20 companies comprising of around 1,200 personnel of the Central Armed Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and Rapid Action Force (RAF). We have got 10 companies till now who have been posted strategically across the state.”

As a precautionary measure, Maharashtra Police has allowed all personnel aged above 55 years and those above 50 with health issues, to stay at home. Those who have volunteered to work have only been assigned administrative posts where it has been ensured that they have very less or no contact with people.

87 booked, 72 arrested for lockdown violations on Wednesday

The Mumbai Police booked 87 people in 22 FIRs and arrested 72 of them for violating lockdown rules on Wednesday. Of the 22 FIRs, 18 were for gathering in public and the rest were for not wearing masks. A maximum of 14 FIRs were from the central region and west region, which cover the worst-affected parts of Mumbai.