Bhubaneswar: As many as 48 police personnel have died while performing their duty in COVID-19 management in Odisha till date.
Stating this, the annual activities report of Odisha Police released by the Home department said the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 created an emergency situation around the country including Odisha. It impacted all sections of society and sectors of economy.
In order to take on the huge socio-economic crisis at hand, the Odisha government declared it as a disaster and imposed lockdown across the state in March, 2020.
The police personnel including officers were mobilised and assigned an important role to play in enforcing the lockdown while showing empathy and restraint considering the sensitive nature of the crisis.
While performing the duty, 8,902 police personnel were exposed to COVID infection and 48 of them laid down their lives in the line of duty till date, the report stated.