BSF medical chief succumbs to Covid-19

New Delhi, June 12

The head of the Border Security Force’s medical wing, Dr Naveen Ram, on Saturday succumbed to post-Covid complications, officials said.

He was 63.

The inspector general-rank officer was admitted at a private hospital in central Delhi for over a month for treatment of post-Covid health issues, the officials said.

He had taken both shots of a Covid vaccine, they said.

Ram was the director (medical) of the country’s largest border guarding force. The Border Security Force (BSF) has close to 2.65 lakh personnel and is primarily tasked to guard India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The BSF condoled Ram’s demise with a public message.

“DG (director general) and all ranks condole the untimely and sad demise of Dr Naveen Ram, IG/Director (Medical) BSF on 12 June 2021 while undergoing treatment due to post COVID-19 complications,” it said.

“Prahari parivar (BSF family) stands with his family in this trying time,” the BSF tweeted.

The officer had earlier headed the medical wings of other paramilitary or central armed police forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF, ITBP and CISF.

The doctor is credited with bringing in a major health directive in 2012 that relaxed eye sight norms for aspirants and in-service troopers of these forces enabling ‘minor vision correction’ candidates to serve in CAPFs that are deployed across the country for rendering a variety of internal security duties. PTI