12,300 cops in a force of 1 lakh infected by Covid-19 in harness
Even as the police force performs an unenviable task of penalising people for not wearing masks and maintaining social distance, a mind-boggling number of cops themselves were caught by the coronavirus in Gujarat.
In a force of over a lakh, some 12,300-odd police personnel, and officers got infected with Covid-19 virus since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020. More worrying is that about 140 of them succumbed to the deadly virus.
A top police official said about 90 had died during the second wave of the pandemic and this is a whopping 64 percent of those who succumbed to the virus since 2020. However, top police officials are relieved that by now about 95 percent of the police personnel have been vaccinated.
“As the cops are frontline warriors in the fight against Covid-19, we have taken ample steps to keep our force and their family members safe. From supplying masks, sanitizers, gloves and immunity-boosting medicines, we have set up Covid care centers for them. We have also deployed 18 police officers of the rank of DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police) and above who have post graduated in medicines to assist and coordinate with doctors for their treatment,” said a top official.
“Apart from this, we have also designated the crime branch of various cities and local crime branch of various districts to provide help to police personnel and officials who have got infected by Covid-19,” he added.
Ahmedabad tops in infections
Like in the normal population, Ahmedabad tops all cities in Gujarat with a maximum of 2,408 police personnel being infected between March 2020 and May 2021. The city had 38 active Covid-19 cases till May 2021. “One IPS (Indian Police Service) and one DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police) the rank officer also succumbed after getting infected by the Covid-19 virus,” added a top police official.
Police trainees at Karai and PTS, Junagadh also hit by the virus
According to official figures, since the outbreak of the pandemic, 174 police trainees at Gujarat Police Academy (GPA) at Karai got infected with Covid-19 virus while 23 trainees got infected in the Police Training School at Junagadh.
