High-ranking Mumbai Policeman Dies Of Coronavirus: 2nd Case Within 24 Hours

Hai Hoang |Apr 28, 2020

The Maharashtra police force has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Recently, on the 23rd and 24th of this month, 2 police officers died of the virus in Mumbai. On a broader scale, in Maharashtra, a total of 96 people have been diagnosed with the virus.

The Coronavirus proves that we can never let our guards down by claiming yet another life within the Mumbai's police force, and it's the second case of Mumbai policeman dies of coronavirus so far.

Sandip Surve, a 52-year-old head constable, passed away on April 24 after receiving treatments in the hospital just a day earlier. This marks the second Mumbai police casualty within 24 hours between April 23 and April 24. The police officer held the rank of “head constable”, which is prestigious within the police force. After tested positive with the virus, he did not immediately check himself into the hospital. It wasn’t until last Friday that his colleagues admitted him into the hospital after having been home-bound while showing symptoms several days before.

Navi Mumbai Hospital where officer dies of coronavirus — Navi Mumbai hospital, where the officer was admitted.

Many people have mourned the Kamothe resident's death, including his colleagues at the Mumbai police’s Protection Branch. They also expressed condolences towards their friend, the policeman dies of coronavirus through their official Twitter account.

Mumbai Police Tweet about friend who died of coronavirus — Mumbai policemen mourne the passing of their colleague

Alarmingly, the head constable’s colleagues have revealed that he went against ordinance during the lockdown. He still commuted to work at his office every day, traveled a distance of 30km in total every day.

India Bus — Riding the bus is extremely risky during this time

His action specifically violated India’s outdoor restriction that only allows outside activities when absolutely urgent. To make the matter worse, he took the bus, which is an ideal environment for the virus to spread. Given the nature of Mumbai's tropical weather, the bus might just be the worst mean of transportation during this pandemic.

Navy Mumbai the residency of the officer who dies of coronavirus — Navi Mumbai, where the officer resided

Just a day before that, another police officer also died of the pandemic. This officer, who went by the name of Chandrakant Pendurkar, left behind his wife and three children. This 57-year-old officer's death marked the first Mumbai’s police casualty, and the second death followed soon after. In Maharashtra, the state in which Mumbai is located, 89 policemen are currently Corona-positive. Initially, there were 96 confirmed-cases, fortunately, 7 of them are now negative with the virus thanks to doctors’ medical efforts.