3,000 cops COVID-19 positive in Maha, 30 dead: Home minister

Pune: About 3,000 police personnel and officers have tested positive for coronavirus so far in Maharashtra and 30 of them have died, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Sunday.

He said it was unfortunate that police personnel constitute the highest number of COVID-19 fatalities among frontline workers.

“Police personnel has been posted at nakabandi duty, and also at quarantine and isolation facilities for the last three months,” the home minister told reporters when asked about the high number of police personnel contracting the infection.

Queried about the number of inmates being released from various jails in the state to de-congest them in view of the COVID-19 crisis, Deshmukh said that a total of 9,671 inmates have been released on temporary bail.

He said that a total of 31 temporary facilities have been created in 24 districts to keep new jail inmates.

When asked about the jail where liquor baron Vijay Mallya will be likely to be lodged after his extradition from UK, Deshmukh said it is the lookout of the Centre, but we will make proper arrangements.