Mumbai: A 54-year-old police constable, Deepak Hate, attached to the Bandra police station succumbed to the novel coronavirus on Friday. Hate's death is the 16th death in the Mumbai Police department, after another constable attached to Dahisar police station was tested positive for COVID-19 after he died on May 26.
Constable Deepak Hate | Photo: FPJ Correspondent
Till Friday, a total of 25 personnel from the Maharashtra Police have died due to COVID-19.16 of them are from Mumbai Police, three from Nashik Rural, two from Pune and one each from Solapur City, Solapur Rural, Thane and Mumbai unit of Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS).
In the last 24 hours, around 116 cops from across the Maharashtra state have tested positive and around 73 have recovered.
A senior police official said that Hate, who was posted at the Bandra police station since the last five years, had been on a medical leave for more than a week after he fell sick. While he had no pre-existing ailments, he was admitted to a suburban hospital after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Police said that Hate's health deteriorated on Thursday night, after which he succumbed to the virus on Friday. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Hate was previously deployed as an orderly to police inspector Rajendra Kane, who is now attached to the Vile Parle police station. Inspector Kane expressed his grief and took to social media to offer condolences for constable Hate.
Meanwhile, on May 26, constable Dilip Mohite, 54, attached to Dahisar police station had died after he fell sick and was admitted to a hospital. The COVID-19 tests conducted on Mohite after his death determined that he was positive for coronavirus, following which his family underwent tests as well.
According to the figures released by the Maharashtra Police, over 2,211 policemen have tested positive for COVID-19, of which 1,216 are active cases. While a total of 25 policemen succumbed to the novel Coronavirus till Friday, including 16 from Mumbai Police, over 970 have recovered from the virus and were discharged.
