New Delhi, May 01 (KMS): Six more personnel from a Delhi-based battalion of Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have tested positive for coronavirus.
The total number of infected troops in this unit now stands at 52.
The men belong to the 31st battalion of the paramilitary, based in Mayur Vihar Phase-III area that has been entirely sealed after 46 personnel were infected with the novel coronavirus and one succumbed to it over the last few days.
Six more out of the 89 samples taken have tested positive for COVID-19, a senior official said. All the troops suffering from the infection have been admitted for treatment to various hospitals in the national capital, he said.
A 55-year-old sub-inspector rank official had succumbed to the novel coronavirus on Tuesday.
These kind of numbers in a single battalion (that has over 1,000 troops) of the country’s largest paramilitary force has rung alarm bells in the establishment.
Officials have indicated that the primary source of the COVID-19 infection in this unit is a constable (nursing assistant) who joined this battalion after finishing his leave period at his home in New Delhi. The nursing assistant is posted in another CRPF battalion deployed in Kupwara district of occupied Kashmir.
Over 400 samples of troops and their families from this unit have already been collected, the officials said.
The 3.25 lakh personnel strong CRPF is largest paramilitary force in India.