As of Monday, 79 police personnel in the state have succumbed to Covid-19 while 1,204 have active infections.

Two more policemen succumbed to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll in the Maharashtra Police to 79.

Constable Jitendra Bhalerao (38), posted at Waliv police station in Vasai, passed away early on Monday morning after battling the virus for three weeks. Bhalerao was admitted to Riddhi Siddhi Hospital in Nallasopara on June 20 after testing positive. Palghar police spokesperson, Sub Inspector Sachin Navadkar said Bhalerao had no known illnesses. “He was quite fit before falling sick last month,” he said.

Bhalerao’s health deteriorated last week and he was placed on ventilator support five days ago. He was declared dead at 3 am, said Navadkar. Bhalerao is survived by his wife and an eight-year-old son, who stay in Kalyan.

Bhalerao is the second casualty in the Palghar police. Last month, 40-year-old Constable Kiran Salunkhe, who was also posted at Waliv police station, passed away at a private hospital in Nallasopara. Navadkar said that 135 police personnel in the district have tested positive so far and 30 of them have active infections.

On Sunday afternoon, a 55-year-old assistant sub-inspector in the Mumbai Traffic Police passed away at a hospital in Kandivali West. The deceased, Suresh Jadhav, was posted at the D N Nagar Traffic division in Andheri West. Senior Inspector Siraj Inamdar said Jadhav had diabetes but was otherwise healthy.

Jadhav was admitted to Oscar Hospital in Kandivali on June 19 after coming down with cold and fever. He tested positive two days later. “His vitals were stable in the beginning but began to deteriorate after some time. He had to be given oxygen artificially as he had difficulty breathing,” Inamdar said, adding, “Jadhav passed away at 1 pm on Sunday.”

As of Monday, 79 police personnel in the state have succumbed to Covid-19 while 1,204 have active infections.