Kerala Police Dept Suffers 1st Covid-19 Casualty as 55-year-old Cop Succumbs to Infection

Thiruvananthapuram: A 55-year-old sub inspector posted on duty in Idukki district’s Special Branch department, succumbed to Covid 19 on Friday.

Ajithan was initially being treated at the Idukki medical college, but after his condition worsened on Wednesday night he was shifted to the Kottayam Medical College. He passed away on late Friday night.

Mourning his death, Kerala Police in a tweet on Saturday said the entire police force stands in solidarity with Ajithan’s family and friends and his valuable contributions in service will not be forgotten.

Additional guidelines have been issued by the Kerala police chief for policemen being assigned the Covid-19 duty. These include that no police officer above the age of 50 should be put on Covid-19 related field duty and those with co-morbidity issues should also not be out on active field duty even if they are below 50 years of age. Visits other than to office and essential needs should be avoided at all costs, the mandate says.

The state police chief added that the treatment of those who test positive should be properly followed up to ensure that they get the best available treatment and an officer should be specifically posted for the daily monitoring of police officers under treatment. Unit heads must ensure that these directions are complied with, he said.

The police headquarters in the state capital has been shut down for two days for sanitisation.