Tamil Nadu lost its first police personnel to the novel coronavirus on Thursday. Police Inspector Balamurali (47) serving at the Mambalam Police Station as Law and Order Inspector had tested positive for the COVID-19 infection in June and was undergoing treatment at the Corona Care Centre at the IIT Madras campus. Initially, there were signs of improvement, but his condition began deteriorating after which he was moved to the Rajiv Gandhi Government Medical College Hospital where he passed away. There have been reports for some time now stating Chennai Police Commissioner AK Viswanathan had made arrangements for costly medicines for treating police inspector Balamurali, who was an engineer by training and the son of a police officer. He had joined the state police force in 2000 and is survived by his wife, daughter and son. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami paid his condolences to inspector Balamurali's family and spoke with them over the phone.  

TN government had earlier ordered a job to an eligible family member of officials within the state government who passed away due to the COVID-19 infection. Free treatment including relief of Rs. 2 lakh for families of all officials who contract coronavirus has been mandated by the state government while Rs. 50 lakh had been announced for those who die due to the disease during Corona containment duty. As of now, it is unclear whether Balamurali's family is eligible for the relief sum of Rs. 50 lakh. Around 600 police personnel in Tamil Nadu have tested positive for coronavirus with nearly 250 showing recovery, among whom is also an IPS officer. Tamil Nadu is the second worst affected state in the country with over 50,000 coronavirus cases recorded with Chennai city alone registering 451 deaths due to the disease. The state will be entering complete lockdown starting June 19 till June 30 as a preventive measure to stop the spread of the deadly infection after a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases over the past few days.

Below is the video of Law and Order Inspector Balamurali's family getting emotional at witnessing him post his death: