57-year-old head constable becomes Mumbai Police’s 1st Covid casualty

A 57-year-old head constable undergoing treatment at BYL Nair Hospital for Covid-19 died on Saturday, Manjunath Singe, deputy commissioner of police, zone 8, said.

A 57-year-old head constable undergoing treatment at BYL Nair Hospital for Covid-19 died on Saturday, Manjunath Singe, deputy commissioner of police, zone 8, said.

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Pranaya Ashok, deputy commissioner of police (operation), and spokesperson for Mumbai Police, said this is the first case of death among the city’s police personnel. Ashok also said that until Saturday, 40 police personnel in Mumbai have been tested positive for coronavirus and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.

According to the police, the head constable was attached to Vakola police station and was a resident of Prem Nagar Colony at Worli Naka. On April 22, he was admitted to Nair Hospital after he developed symptoms of coronavirus and began feeling uneasy. “He was tested positive for coronavirus based on a swab test and was undergoing treatment. His condition however, worsened over the days, after which he was put on ventilator. On Saturday at 3.30pm, he was declared dead by the hospital,” said an officer, who did not wished to be named.

It has not yet been established how he had contracted the infection, the officer added. Another police constable who was a close contact of the 57-year-old head constable had also been tested positive for coronavirus some days ago and has been undergoing treatment at Jogeshwari’s Trauma Care Hospital.

The Mumbai Police has the highest number of cases of the total 96 cases reported in all the police departments in Maharashtra. Owing to the high number of cases, Mumbai Police has decided that police personnel with comorbidities and other health issues will not be posted at containment zones, where the chances of them getting infected by the virus are relatively higher.

“We are avoiding the deployment of older and physically weak in front-line areas,” Ashok said.