220 personnel of Assam Police found COVID-19 positive till now: DGP

At least 220 personnel of the Assam Police have tested positive for COVID-19 so far and of them, 171 are undergoing treatment at present, Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said on Monday.

The DGP said that of those infected, one police personnel belongs to his security team.

"So far 220 police personnel have tested positive. Out of this, 171 are currently lodged at different COVID Care Centres (CCC). These active cases include 48 with symptoms and 123 asymptomatic," Mahanta told reporters.

Among the positive cases, 40 were reported on Sunday alone, he said.

Mahanta said 49 personnel from district police, 112 people from battalions and 10 persons from different allied departments are among those undergoing treatment.

"One from my wing also turned positive. Though he was not with me directly, we all gave our swabs and results have come negative," he said.

Mahanta said that a total of 932 police personnel have been placed under quarantine as of Sunday, comprising 145 from districts and 787 from battalions.

"In addition to these, 49 personnel are in home quarantine after their discharge from hospitals or CCCs," he added.

Talking about care given to the affected persons, Mahanta said the Assam Police has evolved a system of following up each positive case by way of individually calling them and enquiring about their well-being on a daily basis.

"In addition, our dedicated team also finds out the well-being of the respective family of the COVID-19 positive police personnel," he added.

Mahanta also thanked Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for calling him and other officials at least thrice a day to enquire into every aspect of policing during this trying time.

Expressing gratitude to Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the DGP said one full wing at the Khanapara CCC in Guwahati has been dedicated to treating only police personnel.

"It is worth mentioning that the Assam Police has also prepared a 26-bedded sophisticated accommodation at Dergaon. Another CCC is being prepared at 16th AP(IR) battalion at Bormonipur," he added.

Mahanta said the force has made nearly hundred quarantine centres in different parts of the state with a strength of 22 police doctors and 250 nurses to handle patients from the Assam Police "Some personnel becoming positive is in no way deterring us in service delivery, anti-insurgency operations, crime control or other works. Our operations against unlawful activities are unabated," he said.

The DGP informed that since March 25, when the first phase of the COVID-19 lockdown came into force, the Assam Police has recovered 1,628 arms and ammunitions, 197 grenades, three IEDs, 26 detonators, two kgs of explosives and 16 RPGs from different parts of the state.

"The police have also played a major role in enforcing the lockdown in the state during this period. For violation of lockdown norms, we have so far collected Rs 4.58 crore as fines from the public. Also, Rs 73.25 lakh collected for not wearing masks," Mahanta said.

So far, 4,777 persons have been arrested for violating the restrictions and 3,705 cases registered for 3,906 incidents since the beginning of the restrictions in March, he added.

Besides, 35,056 vehicles of all types and 34 boats have been detained from various parts of the state during this period, Mahanta said.

The DGP also said that the Assam Police has taken a proactive stand against fake news and said action is being taken against those spreading provocative content and rumours about COVID-19 on social media.

So far, 97 cases have been registered and 51 persons were arrested, he said.