Coronavirus In Maharashtra: 531 Cops Infected By Covid-19 So Far, 39 Recover

531 Maharashtra police personnel—480 constables and 51 officers—have tested positive for Covid-19 so far, an official said on Thursday, adding that 39 of them have recovered from the disease.

Five policemen have died due to the coronavirus, the offical said.

Earlier on Thursday, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said 487 policemen tested positive for Covid-19 since the nationwide lockdown came into force. The lockdown was imposed on March 24 and has been extended till May 17 to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the official cited above said that Maharashtra Police has so far registered at least 96,231 offences and arrested 18,858 people under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code for violating lockdown-related norms. The law deals with disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant.

Since the lockdown, there have been 189 incidents of assault on policemen (till May 7) in which 73 personnel and a home guard sustained injuries, the official said, adding that at least 683 persons have been arrested for these attacks. Around 30 health professionals were also attacked during this period, the official said.

Police have traced at least 649 people, who violated quarantine norms in the state, excluding Mumbai, the official said. At least 85,309 phone calls were handled by various police control rooms across the state in connection with the virus, he said.

Police have registered 1,281 offences of illegal transport and seized 53,330 vehicles which had come on roads in violation of lockdown rules, the official said. A fine of Rs 3.56 crore has been collected from violators by the police for various offences during this period, he said.