Tamil Nadu: Inspector dies of Covid-19 in Tirunelveli; 208 cops in Madurai test positive

TIRUNELVELI: A police inspector attached to the armed reserve unit of Tirunelveli city police died of Covid-19 on Saturday. Inspector Sadhu Chidambaram, 56, who was undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at a private hospital for 15 days died around 2am. Police said that he is the second in the family to die to the disease. His son-in-law Srinivasan, 35, a software professional in Chennai, also died of Covid-19 two weeks ago.
Srinivasan had come to Tirunelveli about a month ago and tested negative.He developed symptoms five days before his death and could not be saved. “Sadhu Chidambaram was entrusted with the task of deploying armed reserved personnel for check-post duty and other Covid-19 related duties,” DCP A Saravanan said.
The inspector’s body was laid to rest with full state honours by firing 21 rounds in Kalvai, his native village near Srivaikuntam in the district. His wife has tested positive and is being treated at the Tirunelveli government medical college and hospital. This makes him the second police personnel to die of Covid-19 in the southern region. Last Sunday a head constable died in Virudhunagar district.
The surge in Covid-19 cases has not spared the police force that is in the fore front of maintaining law and order and crowd management to prevent spread of the virus. In Tirunelveli city, 22 police personnel including two inspectors were infected, of which two of them got discharged while the rest are undergoing treatment at TVMCH.
As many as 208 police personnel and officers in Madurai have been infected by the virus till date. This includes 160 in the Madurai city police unit and 48 in the Madurai district police unit. While 80 recovered and have been discharged in the city unit, 39 recovered and have been discharged in the district unit till date.