A total of 1671 police officers have been affected so far, with 18 deaths recorded. 499 officers have recovered from the virus and are ready to join the force again.
The Maharashtra State Police is fighting the war against the deadly COVID-19 virus and other social elements in the city. Till date, the Maharashtra Police has registered 1671 number of positive cases with 18 of them, unfortunately, losing their life.
The Mumbai City Police Chief and other police officers are trying to their level best to motivate the colleagues, providing them with proper hygiene to tackle the virus. Recently, the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, Param Bir Singh, tweeted about the unfortunate death of police personnel and the demise of Head Constable Arun Phadtare due to the virus. In another tweet, the Mumbai Police Chief said that at least 227 police personnel have successfully recovered from COVID-19 and are ready to report for duty soon.
On May 21, Mumbai Police lost ASI Bhivsen Haribhau Pingle to the coronavirus. Being in the high-risk age-group, he was on leave since April. On the same day, Mumbai Police informed about the unfortunate demise of HC Ganesh Chaudhari (57) from Parksite Police Station. He was also on leave since April.
The State DGP and all ranks of Maharashtra Police had offered their condolences to the bereaved families of all the deceased police personnel.
Recently, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Uddhav Thackeray had requested for Central Forces to be deployed at Mumbai analysing the increasing number of affected police officers in the department as well as to provide some relief to the officers who have been on duty 24×7 for the last few months.
To match the present requirements of police personnel, the Centre sent around 2000 additional policemen from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to provide some respite to its fatigued officers.
Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit State by the deadly contagion. The total number of cases as on May 27, 2020, is 52,667, including 1666 police personnel.
“42 police officers and 499 constables have recovered from the deadly virus – COVID-19. All our officers are getting treatment at the hospital,” said a police officer attached to the Mumbai Police.
Anti-social Element
The Maharashtra Police have registered more than 1.2 lakh offences under Section 188 (Disobeying an Order Issued by a Public Servant) of the India Penal Code.
“During this period, we have arrested 22,753 people who have violated the lockdown norms. We appeal to people to stay at their homes and help doctors, the police and other government bodies to fight the virus,” an officer added.
Citizen Speak
Sreeraj Nair: “We have been seeing police officers performing their duties 24×7 during this dangerous pandemic. The local citizens of Mumbai and other cities should stop violating the law and help the government in maintaining law and order.”
Sneha Patil: “Police officers are getting affected due to this virus; the number has crossed the 1500 mark. They too are human beings with families waiting at home. One should obey the rules laid by the government and help them fight the virus rather than increasing their workload.”
Nitesh Poojari: “The State Government has deployed the CAPF in Mumbai and other parts of the State as many police officers are getting infected, thus putting a strain on the number of police personnel out on duty, protecting and maintaining law and order. ‘The government is requesting citizens to stay indoors and help them fight the virus, as according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), once this virus starts spreading wildly, it will be difficult to tackle the situation.”
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