135 CRPF troopers of 31st Delhi battalion test COVID-19 positive

May 02: In a shocking development, 135 personnel of a battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) based in Delhi have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Saturday. Four hundred and eighty troopers of the battalion have been quarantined. The test results of 22 more troopers are awaited while the rest have been cleared. A 55-year-old jawan from Assam stationed in the battalion had died earlier this week at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital.

The sprawling premises of the 31st battalion have been completely sealed after coronavirus infection cases started building up in this unit after the 55 year-old sub-Inspector succumbed to the disease early this week. The jawans are believed to have contracted the virus from a nursing assistant from the paramedic unit of the CRPF who had tested positive earlier this month. The jawan, who joined the battalion, tested positive on April 21. He has been admitted to Delhi’s Rajiv Gandhi Hospital.

The large number of cases coming from a single battalion, which has over 1,000 jawans, has become a matter of concern for the Home Ministry, sources in the Home Ministry said. A mobile coronavirus testing lab has been stationed on the premises of the battalion to ensure quick collection of samples. Separately, 80 personnel of the 246th battalion of the CRPF were quarantined after a constable tested positive for COVID-19. This unit was deployed for rendering assistance in law and order duties to the Delhi Police.