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India: Covid second wave takes a toll on Karnataka Police

Bangalore - The latest among the deaths in the force is a 28-year-old sub-inspector who was seven months pregnant.

The second wave of the Covid pandemic, which is ravaging through Karnataka, has taken a huge toll on the police force. Forty-one personnel have died during the April 1 to May 13 period and 4,203 personnel, accounting for four per cent of the police force, have contracted the virus.

A report in the Hindustan Times cited state police documents, which said the maximum number of cases were in Bangalore, impacting 1,439 police personnel. Other cities that witnessed a major impact included Mysore (with 257 police personnel having been infected with the virus) and Tumkur (216). The state capital also saw 13 deaths in the police force.

The latest victim was Shamili, 28, a sub-inspector with the Dakshina Kannada police department. The youngest police officer to succumb to Covid-19 in the second wave, she was seven months pregnant and had not been vaccinated.

According to Praveen Sood, director-general and inspector-general of police, Karnataka, in the first Covid wave last year, the state lost 103 police officials and over 9,600 were infected. “However, this time, we have made an effort to ensure the entire department is vaccinated,” he added.

At present, 96 per cent of the police force in Karnataka has received the first dose of the vaccine, while 82 per cent have got the second dose as well. Of the remaining nearly 3,000 yet to be vaccinated, about 2,500 are medically unfit for vaccination.