Bengaluru, June 23 Expressing concern over more police personnel testing positive of late, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said on Tuesday that a special centre is being set up for Covid testing of police employees in the state.
"A special Covid-19 testing centre is being set up to check police personnel affected by the virus and all steps will be taken to provide the best treatment to those infected," Yediyurappa said in a series of tweets on his official twitter handle.
The Chief Minister's remarks came after a 50-year-old constable of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) allegedly committed suicide in the city earlier in the day, as he was depressed after testing positive.
Mourning the death, the Chief Minister directed the state home department to compensate his family at the earliest.
"The news about the suicide is very sad. I offer my condolence to his bereaved family. Our police force is doing a yeomen service as Corona warriors across the state over the last 3 months," said Yediyurappa in another tweet.
Being on the frontline of the war against the deadly disease, about 70 police personnel have been infected in the city alone, including a personal assistant to state Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Amakr Kumar Pandey, who went into home quarantine for 14 days.
Two head constables with Halasurgate police station and Kumaraswamy layout traffic police station, a constable with the city crime branch and another constable from the Kalasipalayam police station also tested positive on Monday.
Similarly, 58 police officers and their staff, including Inspector General of Police (IGP-southern range) Vipul Kumar, Mysuru Superintendent of Police Ryshyanath and Additional Superintendent of Police Sneha are under home quarantine after a policeman attached to the Nanjungud police station in the southern district tested positive on Sunday.
( With inputs from IANS )