Law enforcement officers start testing positive after raids, investigative trips

New Delhi: As security agencies and law enforcement officers gradually resume their probe-related duties with precautions against COVID-19, there have now started to appear cases within these agencies which have been reported after officials had gone on raids or arrested accused persons.

In such a case, after a raid to catch touts in Delhi-NCR, several team members of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) raiding team had tested positive for COVID-19. And later, it was discovered that one of the arrested persons in these raids had also been diagnosed with COVID-19.

According to sources, the raids were conducted in Mundka, Paharganj, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Laxmi Nagar between May 21 and May 26. The teams had arrested 13 people in this time, of which one apprehended from Gurugram had tested positive, but only after he was sent into Judicial Custody.

Meanwhile, team members of the RPF raiding party started reporting symptoms from May 28 onwards, after which tests were conducted and four of these officials were found COVID-19 positive, including a security commissioner rank official. Given that the RPF team had visited many locations across five days for the raids, it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the source and time of infection.

"We raided houses of suspects and more than a dozen people were caught while some surrendered. Two shops were also sealed during operation. One person who was caught in Gurugram was later tested positive after he was sent to Judicial Custody," a source said, adding that later two RPF personnel were first to be affected by the virus and on Tuesday a security commissioner rank officer tested positive. An

official said that it was one of the biggest raids conducted

and they successfully busted e-ticket rackets.

Meanwhile, in Delhi Police Crime Branch, nearly half a dozen policemen were affected by the virus. Initial information revealed that they were infected during investigation or search operations conducted in the Nizamuddin Markaz case, which had turned out to be one of the earliest COVID-19 hotspots in the Capital.