Army Brigadier dies of Coronavirus

Kolkata: A Brigadier of the Indian Army posted at the Eastern Command headquarters died due to COVID-19 on Thursday in Kolkata.

Brigadier Vikas Samyal was posted at Fort William and he died at the Army's Command Hospital at Alipore. Sources said his wife and daughter have also tested COVID-19 positive and are currently undergoing treatment.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep condolences on the untimely passing away of Brigadier Vikas Samyal. The state Home department tweeted: "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and government of West Bengal express deep condolences on untimely passing away of Brigadier Vikas Samyal, an Indian Army Brigadier posted at the Eastern Command in Kolkata who succumbed to Covid-19 today at the Command Hospital, Kolkata."

According to the sources in the Eastern Command, Samyal tested positive a few days ago and was admitted at the Army Hospital in Barrackpore in North 24-Parganas, which is the designated COVID-19 hospital for the armed forces.

He was shifted to Command Hospital at Alipore in South Kolkata as his health condition had deteriorated. Despite best efforts by doctors at Command Hospital, he succumbed due to acute respiratory problems arising due to pneumonia and Covid complications.

Sources said the Brigadier's wife and daughter have also tested COVID-19 positive and are undergoing treatment. Contact tracing has been carried out and necessary subsequent steps have been taken up to check the spread of the disease.

There had been cases in which the disease had claimed lives of two CISF jawans who were posted in the state. But this is the first case in which an officer of the Indian Army has died due to COVID-19 in Bengal.

Earlier, among the central forces, as many as 10 BSF jawans got infected with the disease while two CISF personnel died due to Covid and 38 others of the force had tested positive. There was also a report of a DIG-rank officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) getting infected with the virus.