Ludhiana: 544 Khaki warriors infected in line of duty, three dead so far

At least 504 Ludhiana police personnel have already beaten coronavirus and 37 are still fighting the disease

At the forefront of the district’s battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, Ludhiana police have lost their three members to the virus, while another 541 have been inflicted by the infection so far.

Putting their safety on the line, police personnel have been on their toes to enforce the curfew restrictions. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Among them, 37 are still fighting the virus, including joint commissioner of police (JCP) J Elanchezhian.

Since the pandemic broke out in March last year, at least 504 police personnel, including commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal and additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, City 3) Sameer Verma, have already beaten coronavirus.

But, three cops lost the battle to the contagion – assistant commissioner of police (ACP, North) Anil Kumar Kohli, 52, ASI Jaspal Singh, 49, and ASI Sanjiv Kumar, 57. A homeguard jawan, Gurnam Singh, 55, who was deputed at the Meharban police station, also lost his life due to the pandemic.

While the healthcare staff have been fighting to heal the sick, police personnel have been struggling to safeguard citizens against the deadly infection.

From implementing the lockdown restrictions by appealing to residents to stay indoors to penalising the violators to deter the spread of infection, police personnel have been giving it their all, while even staying away from family members for their safety.

Going the extra mile, they are also providing food to the needy patients in home isolation and even celebrated birthdays of people locked indoors due to the lockdown last year.

Commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal said police were working round the clock to ensure Covid norms were being followed, besides maintaining law and order, which had increased their workload and also exposed them to infection time and again.

Vaccine hesitancy continues

Covered under the frontline workers category, police personnel have been eligible for vaccination since the drive was rolled out nationwide on January 16.

But, the department has yet to achieve 100% vaccination. While 93.5% cops (4,303) of the 4,600-strong police force have received the first dose, only 52% (2,392) have come forward for the second jab.

Agrawal said the department was holding special vaccination camps for the force and will achieve 100% coverage soon. Besides, considering the strains of the job, they were also taking care of their diet, and physical and mental health.