E-Paper
Covid-19: Despite difficult circumstances, police personnel are doing their best to keep you safe
The lockdown that is being enforced by the police has helped in preventing the spread of the disease, in isolating cases, contact tracing and quarantining.
The coronavirus pandemic has compelled many nations to take tough measures that require a strong police force to enforce them. Many police personnel are executing this sort of enforcement for the first time in their careers. They have to deal not just with crimes, but also with panic-stricken crowds, emotionally charged and fearful people, trying to walk home or buy essential supplies. The other task that the police have to undertake are enforcing movement restrictions, checking valid passes, ensuring the movement of essential goods, guarding quarantine centres and escorting people who have contracted the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Besides all these, they have to keep an eye on hoarders, rumour-mongers as well as those trapped in their homes due to old age or disabilities. In Punjab, the police helped a woman deliver her baby. In Panchkula, the police turned up at a senior citizen’s home to celebrate his birthday as he had no one else to celebrate it with. In many places, like in Kerala, the police have been feeding stray and abandoned animals.
The police force has shown exceptional resilience even when subjected to harsh words and physical attacks like being spat upon, pelted with stones, or even in some places, when people tried to run them down with their vehicles. The most horrendous was the instance when a religious sect clashed with the police in Patiala and during the scuffle chopped off the hand of an assistant sub-inspector. I am not trying to say that the police are beyond reproach but they are just as susceptible to emotions and fears as anyone else. Some police personnel has tested positive for the virus, some of them in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra have lost their lives.
The lockdown that is being enforced by the police has helped in preventing the spread of the disease, in isolating cases, contact tracing and quarantining.
Among the states, Himachal Pradesh has received appreciation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for its efforts in contact tracing, surveillance, and quarantining. The state police have been tracking all those entering the state from hotspots and their contacts.
Dealing with Una district, which has a porous border with Punjab and is a gateway to four more districts of Himachal Pradesh, was a challenging exercise. The district reported 16 out of the total of 40 Covid-19 cases in the state on April 30. The district set up 25 inter-state barriers with the adjoining state. Una reported its first positive case on April 2, its share being three out of six cases in the state. Further contact tracing of these cases led to the creation of a pool of around 300 people for testing.
The efficiency of the police in contact tracing could be judged from one of those 14 cases that were reported on April 11. The movement of the coronavirus-positive person showed no change during night time but there was some fluctuation during the day time. During a telephonic investigation, he revealed that he did not meet anyone before testing positive. However, the district police chose to investigate further and, with the help of locals and village heads, traced four of his friends whom he had met before he was tested. Those four people were also tested and one of them turned out to be positive. This one case could have infected many others if not for the rigorous tracing by the police.
So the next time, you read articles or hear reports critical of the police, do also remember that we try and do as much as we can under these difficult circumstances to keep you safe and well.
Sakshi Verma Karthikeyan is a 2014 batch IPS officer (Himachal Pradesh cadre)
The views expressed are personal
