Pune: ASI Vilas Vitthalrao Sarvade (55) from Chaturshringi Police Station lost his life on Thursday, battling COVID-19. Sarvade is the sixth personnel of Pune police to have died of the novel coronavirus.
The other Pune police staff who had died of Covid-19 are Vinod Potdar, Dilip Londhe, Suresh Dalvi, Deepak Sawant and Bhagwan Nikam. According to the police, over 1,171 officials from the force have tested positive for the contagion.
Ravindra Shisve, Joint Commissioner of Police talking to Sakal Times, said, “The police department have lost warriors amid the COVID-19. The grants of Rs 50 lakh from the government and grants of Rs 10 lakh from the Police Director General’s (DG) office along with the gratuity to the members who died of Covid infection. The first two cases have already received the amount. The others will receive it soon.”
The police personnel are working round the clock amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis and following lockdown, the warriors have been deployed in contact tracing, monitoring quarantine facilities, execution of the lockdown, including curfews, closure of containment zones, patrolling, issuing e-pass, deployment at COVID centres to name a few.
Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had already stated that as a precautionary measure, around 23,000 police personnel aged between 50 and 55 were given low-risk police station tasks while those who are above 55 have been asked to stay home while their salaries will be paid.
Meanwhile, 73 police personnel have died in month of September taking the total to 229. Mumbai Police has been has crossed the grim mark with over 5,800 personnel have tested positive for the COVID-19.
