1,809 COVID-19 cases reported in Maharashtra police; toll at 18

In the past 24 hours, almost 51 police personnel in Maharashtra have tested positive for COVID-19, an official release stated on Monday (May 25).

So far the total number of positive cases in police is now 1,809, including 1,113 active cases, 678 recovered cases and 18 deaths, including an officer, adding that the Mumbai police had accounted for the highest number of infections and casualties in the department. The Maharashtra police, which is ensuring a strict enforcement of the lockdown in the state, has been severely hit by the pandemic.

At least 52 police officers and 626 personnels, who had tested positive for COVID-19, have recovered from the infection so far.

Apart from the risk of infection, the police also had to face public ire while enforcing the lockdown in different parts of the state. As many as 248 incidents of assault on police were reported across the state, in which 86 police personnel and one Home Guard were injured, police official said.

The Maharashtra Police has registered over 1.1 lakh offences under section 188 (disobeying an order issued by a public servant) of the IPC and 22,867 persons were arrested in these cases, he said. The police also tracked down 695 quarantine violators in the state, excluding Mumbai, the official said.

During the lockdown, the police registered 1,322 offences of illegal transport and seized 71,045 vehicles, he said, adding that fines to the tune of Rs 5.36 crore were collected for various offences.