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457 cops lost to ailments in 3 years

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Police are certainly not in the pink of health, literally, and the top brass is worried. The force has lost as many as 596 personnel in the last three years between 2016 and 2019 primarily due to illness or accidents, necessitating intervention to bring down the incidence of death due to these reasons.

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Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 18

The Haryana Police are certainly not in the pink of health, literally, and the top brass is worried. The force has lost as many as 596 personnel in the last three years between 2016 and 2019 primarily due to illness or accidents, necessitating intervention to bring down the incidence of death due to these reasons.

To deal with this, the Haryana Police has tied up with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to carry out an exhaustive survey of the current medical health of its police personnel and suggest a long-term course-correction mechanism to help build a “healthier force”.

Alarmed by the number of deaths in the last three years —- 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19, Director General of Police Manoj Yadava, instrumental in bringing the issue under the spotlight, wants remedial measures in place to save lives. Of a total of 596 deaths, as many as 359 were due to illness and 192 were in the age bracket of 30-45 years.

Further, of these, 98 deaths were due to heart attack or brain haemorrhage alone. Also, 108 police personnel had “accidental deaths”, indicative of, to a certain extent, the lack of traffic safety sensitivity among them.

In 2016-17, 133 natural deaths took place while 29 were “accidental deaths” followed by 170 and 39, respectively, in 2017-18. In 2018-19, the number of “natural deaths” rose to 180 and 40 accidental deaths took place.

“We don’t want any knee-jerk reactions when it comes to the health of our personnel which is why we have gone to the experts instead of holding random health camps on our own. I have had one meeting with the AIIMS authorities and we have commissioned a study of the health of all our personnel. Based on the findings and their investigation into the deaths in the recent past, we want them to recommend a blueprint for bettering their health and personal well-being. We want the Haryana Police to be the healthiest force,” the DGP said.

The idea, Yadav explained, was to zero in on the “borderline cases”, personnel and employees suffering from pre-diabetic conditions or developing heart conditions, hyper-tension or inching towards a stroke due to lifestyle issues, and provide them timely inputs for tackling the ailment.

“We want to introduce a systematic approach towards dealing with illness, a long-drawn strategy which will not only bear fruit in terms of better health but also spread awareness since most of the deaths have taken place due to heart attacks, strokes and diabetes. Also, it will include a component on traffic safety since that is the second reason for the most deaths reported,” the police chief said.

In the death of any personnel, the force not only loses an “experienced” hand but it also results in a “dependent” family in need of all kinds of support. This thinking has prompted the top brass to prioritise health given the higher stress levels its personnel are exposed to.

For better well-being

  • The Haryana Police have lost as many as 596 personnel in the last three years between 2016 and 2019 primarily due to illness or accidents, necessitating intervention to bring down the incidence of death due to these reasons.
  • The DGP wants AIIMS to carry out an exhaustive survey of the current medical health of state police personnel and recommend remedial steps and a blueprint for bettering their health and personal well-being. 

Lives lost 

  • 596 total deaths between 2016-19
  • 5 killed in action
  • 108 die in road mishaps, accidents
  • 359 deaths due to illnesses
  • 98 cases of heart attack/haemorrhage 
  • 26 suicides/murders

76.6% deaths due to medical ailments

18.1% deaths due to road accidents

5.3% fatalities due to other reasons

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