Constable 12th policeman to succumb to Covid-19 in Delhi

Constable Yoginder Prasad had been admitted a private hospital in west Delhi on June 12 with mild fever and liver-related complications.

A 40-year-old Delhi Police constable died of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Tuesday -- the twelfth police casualty of the viral disease in Delhi.

Following the protocols for cremating Covid-19 patients, the constable’s last rites were performed the same day at the Uttam Nagar crematorium in the presence of his family members and police officials, said deputy commissioner of police (outer) A Koan. (Getty Images/iStockphoto (Representative Image))

Constable Yoginder Prasad had been admitted a private hospital in west Delhi on June 12 with mild fever and liver-related complications. His first Covid test came negative but he remained in the hospital as he was also diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy. Since he had fever, he was again tested for Covid-19 and the result came positive on June 25, said joint commissioner of police (western range), Shalini Singh, adding that Yoginder was posted with the Paschim Vihar West police station in the outer district.

“One member of our family CT Yogender made the greatest sacrifice in the fight against COVID. We pay our homage to this great warrior (sic),” the Delhi Police tweeted from their official handle on Wednesday.

According to his family, “I am having breathing problem but will recover and return home soon,” were his last words to his family during their 90-second video conversation on July 6, a day before he succumbed to Covid-19 at Park Hospital.

“When I asked my son about his health, he said he was having breathlessness and was on oxygen support. I asked him to do yoga for enhancing his immunity. Knowing that we all were worried, he tried to comfort us by saying that he will recover and return home. But he is gone now and will never return,” said Yoginder’s father Jagdish Prasad Yadav, who retired from the police force in 2017 as an assistant sub-inspector (ASI).

According to Yadav, his son was put on a ventilator support a few hours after their last conversation on July 6. The next day around 3 pm, he died during treatment.

“The constable used to visit our hospital for liver disease treatment. On June 12, he was admitted with chronic liver ailment. He was later tested positive for Covid-19 and died on July 7,” said Dr. Rekha Gupta, medical superintendent of Park Hospital.

Following the protocols for cremating Covid-19 patients, the constable’s last rites were performed the same day at the Uttam Nagar crematorium in the presence of his family members and police officials, said deputy commissioner of police (outer) A Koan.

DCP Koan said that Yoginder had joined the Delhi Police as a constable in 2003 and was posted in Paschim Vihar West police station since January 2019. He is survived by his parents, wife, two children – a 14-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter – and two siblings. The family lives in police colony Paschim Vihar. The family originally belongs to Haryana’s Mahendragarh.

So far, 12 officers of the Delhi Police, including a decorated inspector of the special cell, Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, have succumbed to Covid-19. However, over 22,000 personnel have tested positive for the infection, more than 1,400 have recovered from the viral infection and resumed their duties so far, a Delhi Police spokesperson said.