Delhi Police loses 2 ASIs to COVID within 24 hours

New Delhi: Two Delhi Police Assistant Sub-Inspectors have died due to COVID-19 since Saturday evening, taking the overall coronavirus casualty figure in the force to three, officials said on Sunday.

While a 52-year-old ASI died around 11.30 am Sunday during treatment at the Army Base Hospital here, another officer of the rank passed away at the same facility Saturday evening, they said.

Officials said that the ASI who died Sunday morning was posted in the Sultanpuri Police Station of Outer District and was on highway patrol duty in the area since May 1.

He was declared negative for the virus in two tests -- conducted on May 11 and May 22, they said.

However, he felt unwell on May 25 and went to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital where the doctor advised him one week medical rest, the official said,

Back at his residence in Kirari Suleman Nagar here, he started feeling difficulty in breathing early next morning, said Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police).

On May 26, he was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, and later in the evening, he was shifted to the Army Base Hospital here and was undergoing treatment there, he said.

His third COVID-19 test, conducted at the hospital on May 26, came positive, Mittal said, adding the ASI breathed his last Sunday around 11.30 am during the course of treatment.

Before him, the policeman who died on Saturday evening was a 54-year-old ASI who worked with the Finger Print Bureau (FPB) of the Crime Branch in Central Delhi's Kamla Market area, another set of officials said.

He was an ex-Army personnel and had joined the Delhi Police on November 1, 2014. He hailed from Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh and was residing at Naraina village in west Delhi, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), Sanjay Bhatia, said the ASI was tested for coronavirus on May 26 at the Lady Hardinge Medical College here after he complained of fever and cough.

His result came positive for the virus on May 28, Bhatia said, adding the ASI was admitted to the Army's Base Hospital in Delhi Cant and died on Saturday evening.

The Delhi Police had reported its first COVID-19 fatality earlier in the month when a 31-year-old constable, posted at the Bharat Nagar police station in northwest Delhi, had succumbed to the disease.

(PTI)