Infected with COVID-19, 50-year-old head constable commits suicide

Bengaluru, June 24: Coronavirus has rattled the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) Force following a head constable committing suicide and more than 50 personnel, including a commandant, testing positive for the virus.

According to the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Alok Kumar, the 50-year-old head constable was on the way to a hospital here on Monday night when he strangulated himself to death with a rope.

"On Monday night he committed suicide in the vehicle while being taken to the hospital. He strangulated himself in the vehicle which had a partition meant for COVID- 19 patients," police sources told PTI.

The commandant, who is an IPS officer, was tested positive on Tuesday and has been quarantined, he said.

As more than 50 personnel have been found infected with the virus, the ADGP has been speaking to the commandants and the personnel deployed at various places. "I have visited various battalions and spoken to the commandants and other personnel wherever they are deployed. I have told them that even if they test positive, there is nothing to panic," Kumar said.

The KSRP has supplied masks, sanitisers and PPE for those treating the patients. Disinfectants are sprayed on the vehicles, said Kumar. The commandants are also speaking to the personnel to boost their morale, he said.

The KSRP officers are now explaining to the personnel about the importance of yogasanas and pranayama to strengthen their immunity and defeat the virus, he added.