Covid claimed lives of 101 cops: DGP Goutam Sawang

Amaravati: Over a 100 police personnel have succumbed to coronavirus in the state so far, director-general of police (DGP) D Goutam Sawang said here on Tuesday.

In all, 13,229 personnel had been affected by Covid-19 so far and of them 101 died, he said on the eve of Police Commemoration Day.

The DGP said 3,780 personnel with moderate risk and 1,334 with high risk were kept under watch with the help of Unit Medical Officers. All the personnel who have crossed 50 and 55 years of age and suffering from co-morbidities were advised to either work from home or kept on indoor, (police) station duties, he added.

"Covid-19 posed an unprecedented management challenge to the force this year. Police had to fight a valiant battle as the first responders among the Front Line Warriors to keep the communities safe, braving the threat of exposure to infection at every juncture both on duty and off duty," the DGP noted.

Sawang said the AP Police followed a six-pronged strategy to reach out and rescue the police personnel and their families from the distress caused by the pandemic.

Identification of the vulnerable personnel, creation of digital health profiles, sensitisation of staff and their families and organisation of medical and material assistance were part of the strategy, he said.

For the bereaved families, Rs 1 lakh each was provided from the Chief Office Corpus Fund and another Rs 4 lakh each as ex gratia from the Police Bhadrata Fund.

Besides, a lump sum grant of Rs 50,000, funeral charges of Rs 15,000 and incidental charges of Rs 25,000 each were also paid at the police unit level, the state police chief added.