After DG (EoW) Rajiv Tandon's driver was tested positive, the police headquarters in the State capital has been closed till April 26 after covid19 infection rose among 29 police staffers in the city.
ADG (administration) Ajay Kumar Sharma late evening issued an order asking all department heads not to summon employees to PHQ unless there is an urgent work and instead the staff should function from home until April 26.
The officer instructed officers to function through e-mails and whatsapp and added that all the functioning that takes place on e-mails would be considered part of official record and State Crime Record Bureau would be keeping a record of all these details in record.The panic was triggered after driver of DG (EoW) Rajiv Tandon was tested positive and his son, a clerk at PHQ, too contracted the infection. The son was posted at PHQ. The Economic Offence Wing that functions from a separate building as PHQ has been closed down and staff including the DG has been home quarantined and samples are taken for tests from them.
To add, till Wednesday, as many as 29 police personnel have contracted corona infection in Bhopal, said a spokesperson from PHQ. Out of these three have recovered from the disease, he added. Besides Bhopal the police staff is also infected by the virus.
Two SHOs-Devendra Chadrawanshi Indore and Yashwant Pal, Ujjain; have died due to corona virus and an Addl SP posted in Mhow is under treatment. His kin too had contracted the infection like was the case with several policemen in Bhopal.A constable Chetan Singh posted at Ratibad area in Bhopal on corona duty had shot himself with service revolver out of fear of corona infection recently. The cop however was saved and is under treatment.
One of the policemen in Bhopal had contracted the infection from Tablighi Jamat members after he was deployed in their protection. Senior police officers in Bhopal and other cities have kept themselves in isolation as a precautionary measure. Several officers have turned their offices or garages into makeshift accommodation.
At Indore, policemen on duty have been kept at hotels, lodges and dharmashalas to save their families from infection. Indore policemen who had taken some prisoners to Satna and Jabalpur after they were slapped with NSA also were quarantined after the two prisoners tested positive for corona later on. Despite hardships, the policemen besides discharging law and order duty are also engaging in food distribution, helping out cattle, elderly residents and also cracking down the whip on those breaching lockdown orders.
Notably, Health department is the biggest sufferer in Bhopal as close to 100 of staffers including over a dozen officials have fallen prey to corona infection as of now and are under treatment at several hospitals.