More than 84,000 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel have tested positive for Covid-19 so far, and 331 have succumbed to the virus, data from the Union Home Ministry show.
More than 35% of infections and almost 40% of deaths occurred in the period beginning from the third week of March, when the second wave of the pandemic picked up.
Approximately 9 lakh CAPF personnel are deployed across the length and breadth of the country and the maximum deaths have been seen among the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.
Army officers say the fact that CRPF personnel stay in barracks, with shared living and meal areas, it makes them more vulnerable to Covid-19. The armed forces too have seen almost 45,000 cases and around 120 deaths from Covid.