In an unusual gesture, the Maharashtra government, on Friday, announced that the families of the police personnel who died because of COVID-19 will continue to live in the official residence. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that such families will not have to vacate their home and they can continue to live there till the concerned police personnel’s retirement date.
Deshmukh informed that, so far, 54 police personnel died battling the virus. Of the 4,326 coronavirus cases, nearly 3,282 police personnel were discharged and 991 are undergoing medical treatment.
Deshmukh said that the government has taken the decision on humanitarian grounds. He further stated that the department is paying adequate attention so that the police personnel admitted in the hospital continue to get better treatment for speedy recovery.
In a related development, the home minister said there has been a surge in cyber crimes since the relaxation in the lockdown from June 3 in Maharashtra. He informed that in order to curb these crimes and step up investigation, cyber experts have been roped in to assist the police.
As on date, 501 cyber offences were registered in the state. They were related to cheating, bank frauds, hate speech, rumours and character assassination. Of these, 196 were connected to objectionable content in WhatsApp forwards and 49 offences for the misuse of social media. The police have arrested 262 persons so far.
