CRPF's ASI succumbs to coronavirus in Delhi

A 50-year-old Assistant Sub-Inspector of the Central Reserve Police Force has succumbed to COVID-19 here, officials said on Thursday.

This is the second death linked to the pandemic in the country's largest paramilitary force, which has 3.25 lakh personnel, and the seventh among the five paramilitary or Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) of the CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB.

The officials said ASI Panchdev Ram breathed his last on Wednesday at the Lady Hardinge Medical College in Delhi.

The ASI, who hailed from Bihar, was suffering from liver cancer before and he was infected by novel coronavirus some time back, they said.

He belonged to the 84th battalion of the force based in Jammu.

Earlier, a 55-year-old sub-inspector of the 31st battalion of the force had succumbed to COVID-19.

The force also reported nine fresh positive cases of the disease on Thursday and its active cases now stand at 121.

The CAPFs have reported seven COVID-19 deaths, with maximum three in the Central Industrial Security Force and two each in the CRPF and the Border Security Force.