In a first case in paramilitary forces, a 55-year-old CRPF jawan in Delhi died of the novel Coronavirus on Tuesday. After conducting tests in the battalion, 47 cases of coronavirus, including the jawan who died, were discovered. Twelve of them were declared positive yesterday.

All the 12 personnel belong to the 31st Battalion of the CRPF and are deputed in Mayur Vihar in East Delhi. They are quarantined at a Delhi government centre in Mandawali which is a few kilometres from the base of their battalion. The entire battalion of nearly 1,000 people have been quarantined.

The 31st battalion of the CRPF in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar has seen a spike in the number of cases in the past few days.

The jawan, who was from Assam’s Barpeta district, died at Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday. The jawan was suffering from co-morbid conditions like diabetes and hypertension.

Home Minister Amit Shah condoled the death of the trooper.

“I am deeply saddened to learn about the death of brave Sub-Inspector Mohammed Ikram Hussain who was fighting the coronavirus infection.”

“He fought the disease bravely till the end. His contribution to service and internal security of the country will continue to inspire citizens,” Shah tweeted.

The minister said he talked to the family of the official day before yesterday over phone to know about his well being.

“Losing a brave soldier is an irreparable loss for us.The entire country and the central government are with his family in this moment of grief,” he wrote.

Initially, a jawan who is a nursing assistant from the paramedic unit of the CRPF tested positive earlier this month. The jawan, who joined the battalion, started showing symptoms on April 17 and tested positive on April 21. He has been admitted to Delhi’s Rajiv Gandhi Hospital.

The CRPF has said that all companies should ensure placing sanitiser machines in each and every duty vehicle so that jawans can sanitise themselves while on duty, apart from demanding more vehicles from the concerned authorities in Delhi.

The constable, posted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara, was on leave and living in Noida. Due to the ongoing lockdown, he joined the medical unit of the CRPF in Mayur Vihar, close to his local base on April 6 after his leave got over. “Due to the unprecedented situation, the personnel who were on leave were asked to join duty at their nearest location. He developed some symptoms on April 17 and a test confirmed the infection on April 21,” a CRPF official said and added that it was not clear how he contracted the infection.