Corona claims sixth Kolkata policeman – Times of India

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KOLKATA: Kolkata Police lost its sixth cop to Covid on Tuesday. The deceased — constable Devendranath Tirkey (59) — was posted at Charu Market police station. He has become the third policeman from the south division to die of Covid. The three others were from the traffic police.
According to Lalbazar, Tirkey hailed from South Dinajpur. He lived at the Charu Market police barracks. Six of his colleagues from the same police station were admitted to different police stations with Covid symptoms. The south division, like all other divisions, recently arranged makeshift barracks to maintain social distancing.
Police said Tirkey was admitted to Sagore Dutta Hospital. His condition deteriorated on Monday evening and he died a few hours later. Kolkata Police now has over 1,025 confirmed Covid cases and more than 300 active cases.
The incident has yet again prompted senior Lalbazar officers to ask the OCs and ACPs to ensure that tests are carried out regularly with help from KMC. On Tuesday, about 100 cops were tested at the mobile swab collection clinic of KMC near Bhawani Bhawan.
Barracks that are located next to the police station are protected. Besides multiple sanitization drives are carried out. No non-resident cop is allowed to enter the barracks unless absolutely necessary. “We have carried out large-scale swab tests of cops at the Hastings police station besides ensuring that those who came in touch with him are quarantined,” said DCP (south) Meeraj Khalid.
Commissioner Anuj Sharma had wanted to know about the possible reasons for the Covid infection at a few police stations. “He reminded that the barracks have to be taken care of since that was where the frontline Covid warriors stay. Lalbazar has allocated a separate budget now for its barracks. The fact that many family members of cops have also been diagnosed with Covid has worried us a bit,” said an officer.