In a shocking development, J Eswaran, who was the Assistant Commissioner of Police serving with the Chennai Police, has passed away on Thursday at the age of 52 due to the COVID-19 viral infection in the city. Several police officers including Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal and higher officials had expressed tribute to the deceased cop. 

According to reports, Eswaran, a resident of Kolathur was serving as the Assistant Commissioner of Police in the Pallavaram zone of the city. He had breathed his last at the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research in Guindy on Thursday at the age of 52. Eswaran was the 1996-batch officer and joined the police force as a sub-inspector and then he progressed towards becoming one of the top police officers in Chennai. 

Eswaran has complained of breathing difficulty on May 3. Initially, he was admitted to a private hospital where he confirmed to have contracted the COVID-19 viral infection. After testing positive, he was moved to King Institute in Guindy on May 6 and despite the efforts to save him, he had breathed his last at 2 pm on Thursday. The reports say that the mortal remains of the deceased police officer were handed over to the family members on Friday for cremation. 

Eswaran was survived by a daughter preparing for NEET and a son, who is a Class XI student. On Wednesday, Special sub-inspector Ravi had succumbed to the pandemic at the age of 57. Ravi was serving at the Valasaravakkam police station and he passed away in the night hours of Wednesday. According to reports, Ravi developed health discomforts on May 5 and tested positive for the COVID-19 viral infection. He was admitted to a private hospital in Mogappair, Chennai where he breathed his last.

It must be noted that both the deceased police officers had taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and the two demises, the death toll among city police personnel due to COVID-19 during the second wave stands at 12. Earlier last month, police constable Suresh Kumar, who was serving at the Chitlapakkam police station, had passed away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chennai city police commissioner Shankar Jiwal and other officers paid homage to Suresh Kumar.

The police commissioner had announced that the families of the police officers who succumb to the pandemic will be given a solatium of Rs 3 lakh. On Thursday, Tamil Nadu has reported 30,621 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day rise recorded by the state since the outbreak began. The state has reported 19,287 discharges and 297 deaths on Thursday. Overall, the state has recorded 14,99,485 COVID-19 cases so far as of Thursday of which 1,83,772 are active, 12,98,945 have been discharged, and 16,768 had succumbed to the viral infection.