SSB jawan succumbs to COVID-19; 15 deaths in CAPFs

New Delhi: A 36-year-old Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) official succumbed to coronavirus, taking the total number of fatalities in the force due to the pandemic to two, a senior official said on Thursday.

This is the 15th COVID-19 death among the paramilitary force or the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

The head constable rank official was under treatment for the last few months with a serious head injury at a hospital here.

He passed away on Wednesday due to coronavirus infection, the official said.

The official also suffered a heart attack, he said.

He was posted at the headquarters of the force in Delhi, officials said.

The SSB has reported 106 COVID-19 cases till now, out of which 55 personnel, have recovered. Earlier, a 55-year-old head constable of the force had succumbed to the pandemic.

The about 80,000 personnel strong force is primarily tasked to guard open Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan.

With the latest death, there have been 15 casualties among CAPFs like the Central Industrial Security Force (5), Central Reserve Police Force (4), Border Security Force (3) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (1).

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) also reported 36 new cases on Thursday that include 28 personnel from its unit based in Kashmir. Among the fresh cases is a chief medical officer of the force who has been admitted to an isolation facility in Delhi.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) also reported a fresh case of coronavirus infection. It has 17 active cases, while 194 personnel have recovered from the disease.

As per data accessed by PTI, the five CAPFs and two other central forces- the National Security Guard and the National Disaster Response Force- have reported over 1,880 coronavirus cases.

While over 1,220 troops have been cured or recovered, more than 645 are under treatment, the data said.

The first case in these forces, functioning under the Union home ministry, was detected on March 28.

These central forces, with a combined strength of about 10 lakh personnel, render a variety of security duties, law and order management, border guarding, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations and disaster rescue and relief.