49-yr-old cop dies of Covid, toll in Mumbai climbs to 19

So far, more than 1,500 police personnel have tested positive across Maharashtra. (Getty Images/Representational)

A 49-year-old constable of Mumbai Police succumbed to Covid-19, taking the death toll of police personnel in the city to 19. So far, more than 1,500 police personnel have tested positive – of which 533 have recovered – and 1,758 have been asked to observe home quarantine.

Officials said that the constable, identified as Pramod Shelar, died on Tuesday. They added that he was diagnosed with cancer in July last year, and since then, had been admitted in a private hospital in south Mumbai.

“As the hospital is also treating Covid-19 patients, we believe that he might have got the infection from someone there. Because he was already vulnerable, he succumbed to the disease,” an officer said.

Sources in the state DG office said that currently, 1,526 police personnel are Covid-19 patients, and are being treated at different hospitals and Covid care centres across Maharashtra.