36 Railway cops test positive for COVID-19 in Bengaluru; one more employee succumbs to virus

BENGALURU: 36 male cops of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) as well as the Railway Special Protection Force (RSPF) posted at the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna station (Bengaluru) have tested COVID-19 positive within 48-hours, sending alarm bells among the forces.  

Meanwhile on Saturday, another railway employee of the Hubballi Railway Division died taking the overall toll of serving employees in the South Western Railway Zone due to COVID-19 to five.  

A top cop told The New Indian Express, “The RPF and RSPF cops have caught the infection from one passenger who turned out to be a superspreader and has spread it to 28 others. Since the cops are drawn from different States and are provided accommodation at the RPF Barracks (near KSR station), it has easily spread among them,” said a highly placed source in the Railways.

All the 36 cops are asymptomatic and have been admitted to the Covid Care Centre of the Railway Hospital in Bengaluru. “The barracks has been sealed and santinised now and will open after three days,” the source added. Contact tracing is on and 45 have been traced so far, said another source.

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On July 10, a 59-year-old Assistant Sub-Inspector became the first in the force to test positive.

It has also created panic among the force, particularly since the first Shramik Special has restarted after a break. A train carrying 1540 passengers left from Bengaluru to Guwahati on Saturday evening. A large number from the RPF is posted for every special train.

The Government Railway Police in Bengaluru seems better placed now. “Totally 12 cops, including three women, deployed at KSR station tested positive 20 days ago. Nine of them have recovered so far,” said a top cop. Across the State, over 60 have tested COVID positive.

The Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru, Ashok Kumar Verma tweeted last night that since he and his driver were primary contacts of his RPF security staffer, they underwent COVID tests. The results turned out negative, he added.

Over all five deaths in SWR Zone

A retired technician of the Mechanic Department in Hubballi Railway Division died on Saturday at the Central Hospital where he was being treated for COVID-19. This takes the number of present railway staffers who lost their lives to COVID to five, reveal statistics from SWR.

On Saturday, 24 fresh positive cases were reported across the Zone, comprising of Hubballi, Mysuru and Bengaluru Divisions, taking the number of overall COVID active cases to 298, out of which only 112 are still active and 19 have died. These figures include serving employees, retired employees as well as family members of both categories, all of whom are eligible for treatment at Railway Hospitals.

The other four serving staffers who died in SWR Zone are all male and coincidentally all are reported to be 58 years. Three of them belong to the Bengaluru Division and one is from Hubballi Division.

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