COVID-19 fear has gripped police personnel attached to various stations in the district after dozens of their colleagues tested positive for the virus and many more went into quarantine.
Resentment is brewing among many of them, especially after they were assigned duty at stations where their colleagues had tested positive.
Nearly 200 personnel, including a dozen senior officers, have gone into quarantine. District Police Chief U. Abdul Kareem and Assistant Superintendent of Police M. Hemalata were among those who tested positive.
Seven officers of the Perumpadappu station were admitted to MES Medical College Hospital, Perinthalmanna, after they tested positive. They included one woman civil police officer. Four officers from the Ponnani station, including two women personnel, too were admitted to the hospital.
However, what irked police personnel attached to the Perumpadappu station was the alleged attempt by the authorities to conceal the spread of the disease among their colleagues. “We have been asked to work at the station in spite of seven of our colleagues testing positive for the virus,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity. He added that remedial and preventive measures were not adopted at the station.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Kozhikode) Sujith Das S., holding additional charge of District Police Chief (Malappuram), said he would review the situation on Monday and take an appropriate decision. He added that everyone, irrespective of their professions, was living under fear of the pandemic. “It is not confined to police personnel alone. But our job is unlike that of others,” he observed.
The Air India Express B-737 flight crash at the Karipur airport on August 7 night was considered one of the key factors leading to the current spike in COVID-19 cases among police and district administration officials.