Nearly 4,000 police personnel test positive in 20 days, 34 die

LUCKNOW: As many as 3,977 police personnel tested positive and 34 died in the past 20 days during the second wave of Covid-19 in the state since April 10, said senior police officials here on Thursday.

“There are 3,490 active cases in the police department on April 30,” said a senior official, adding that 2,514 fresh cases were reported in the past eight days.

The official said 2,780 active cases were reported from the district police units, 239 cases from the other police office units, 188 cases from the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), 145 cases from the Government Railway Police (GRP), 69 cases from the police training centres, 59 cases from the state police headquarters in Lucknow and 10 cases from the home guards’ wing.

He also said the active cases in the police force were merely 105 on April 10, which had increased to over 33 times in 20 days. Overall, 16,698 police personnel had tested positive and 116 of them died during treatment between April 24, 2020 and April 30, 2021, the official added.

During the year-long period, 96 of the deaths were reported from the district police units, eight from PAC, four from the director general of police (DGP) headquarters, three from other police units, two each from GRP and home guards’ wings and one from a police training centre, the official said.

He also said 13,291 police personnel on field duty in districts across the state tested positive between April 24, 2020 and April 20, 2021.