Constable dies of Covid, 67 others test positive

A constable from the Mumbai Police died of Covid-19 on Tuesday night, taking the death toll of the city police force to 30. In the last 48 hours, 67 city police

A constable from the Mumbai Police died of Covid-19 on Tuesday night, taking the death toll of the city police force to 30. In the last 48 hours, 67 city police personnel have tested positive, bringing the total count of infected policemen to 2,247.

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According to police, 58-year-old head constable Udhay Shinde posted with Nirmal Nagar police station succumbed to Covid-19 on Tuesday. This is the second Covid casualty in a week from the police station, which has witnessed a total case count of 19 among its personnel. Of them, 17 were discharged after testing negative in subsequent tests.

Shinde was assigned to court duty and was deployed at Bandra metropolitan magistrate court. Since April, he was on special leave since he fell into the Covid high-risk category due to his age. On June 6, his health condition started deteriorating and he was admitted to BYL Nair Hospital. On June 7 he tested positive for the coronavirus.

“Two days ago, his health condition was stable, but on Tuesday he was not able to breathe properly and succumbed by evening. He lived with his wife and two children in Worli,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity.

A senior police inspector, in charge of a police station in zone 3 in central region also tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. The senior officer was in charge of enforcing strict lockdown and maintaining law and order in one of the biggest Covid hotspots in city during the early days of the pandemic.He is also known for his investigative skills and cracking some sensational cases in the police department. The officer has been admitted to Hinduja Hospital after suffering from serious breathing issues, said an officer from his police station.

To date, 30 Mumbai Police personnel have died while 16 more succumbed to the infection in other districts of the state.

Pranay Ashok, deputy commissioner of police (operations) said that at present, 758 police personnel are undergoing treatment at various Covid care centres (CCC) and hospitals in the city, while 1,489 have recovered. Around 25% of the recovered personnel have resumed duty.

Ambulance topples at Worli Seaface

An ambulance carrying a Covid-19 patient, heading to a south Mumbai hospital toppled after it met with an accident at Worli Seaface on Wednesday evening. The ambulance was dashed by a police vehicle carrying SRPF jawans while passing a traffic signal junction. “No one was injured in the incident. The patient was later taken to BYL Nair Hospital,” said an officer from Worli police station.

50 transgender persons assault cops in Dharavi

Around 50 transgender persons gathered outside the Dharavi police station and created a ruckus on Tuesday night. Some of them undressed and got into a scuffle with the police. They also assaulted and misbehaved with a woman police sub-inspector and two constables. Dharavi police have registered a case against 15 transgender individuals and detained six of them. Their Covid test reports are now awaited before police proceed further.

“On Tuesday five to six transgenders visited Dharavi police station around 8pm. One of them told the officer on duty that a friend of theirs had fallen in love with a woman and requested the police bring the man to the station and beat him. The officer refused to do so and said that the issue should be resolved peacefully,” said an officer from Dharavi police station.

“The angry transgender then called others and after sometime around 50 transgenders gathered at the police station and started abusing a woman police officer and other personnel. They became aggressive and started manhandling the officers. A knife has also been recovered from one of the accused,” said senior inspector Ramesh Nangare of Dharavi police station.

Police have registered a case against the group under numerous sections of the Indian Penal Code, said Nangare.

(With inputs from Manish Pathak)