Is Hyderabad police force new victim of Covid?

Hyderabad: Police being the front line warriors are falling prey to the deadly virus with the number of Covid-19 cases rising amongst the fraternity. According to sources in a single day, on Friday, four police officers from different police stations were tested positive. One SI from Chilkalguda PS and three constables from multiple PS in the city were tested positive.

It was only on Thursday that an SI of Balapur PS was admitted to Gandhi Hospital as he showed the symptoms of the virus and upon conducting further tests it was revealed that he was positive. The officer was then immediately admitted to Gandhi Hospital and his entire family was also quarantined. In the same week, a constable Dayakar Reddy from Kulsumpura PS lost his life battling the deadly virus. He also started showing the symptoms and was ordered to take rest, but he did not take rest for a lengthy period as he was very much duty conscious and was popular in the entire department for his exemplary performance. His popularity was so instrumental that, even DGP tweeted about his death and sent condolences while the Commissioner of Police, Anjani Kumar on Saturday held a condolence meet to mourn the death of Dayakar Reddy.

In the last month, two police constables from Chikkadpally PS were also tested positive in the same week and they were ordered to get a treatment, while the entire PS was sanitised.

Finally, it was another constable from Saifabad PS who also tested positive of coronavirus as he had interacted with one of the Jamaat returnees after offering his prayers in a mosque. 'The top brass went into a huddle as soon as the first news of police constable contacting virus broke out. But over a period of time, the entire department has adjusted to it and we are only instructed to follow the safety protocols of washing hands with hand wash or soap or applying sanitizers', said an officer on condition of anonymity. The officer added, "The police officers are working round-the-clock risking their lives and we are not sure about when and where will an officer come in contact with a coronavirus positive patient. So, it's the responsibility of every officer to adhere to the safety norms prescribed during the time of crisis."