Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): A policeman posted in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar has tested positive for novel coronavirus, officials confirmed today.
He has become the first Covid-19 positive case in the J&K police, prompting the police force to take some extra measures to prevent further spread of the deadly pandemic. The police is now tracing all the contacts of the cop, who hails from north Kashmir’s Baramulla district and was posted with the Indian Reserve Police (IRP) 3rd battalion in Srinagar.
Top officials said that the policeman who tested positive was posted in Srinagar, adding that after his results, all the official contacts are being traced for sampling and quarantine.
“So far, 13 members of his family were shifted for quarantine in Baramulla while as search for his contacts is on,” said an official, requesting anonymity. The official said that all the protocols and medical guidelines are being followed to track on duty and home contacts of the positive cop and all the close contacts will be shifted for quarantine.
Sources in police said that an in-house alert has been sounded in all ranks and files of J&K police and all the policemen in Srinagar have been directed to maintain extra vigil to prevent spread of the deadly pandemic. “All the cops have been asked to maintain social distancing and ensure that all the guidelines are followed in spirit,” they said.
Meanwhile, J&K police is at the forefront of enforcing lockdown in Srinagar, where 78 cases have been tested positive so far. Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar Haseeb Mughal said that in Srinagar district alone, 130 FIRs have been lodged while 250 people have been detained for violating the lockdown.
