A 34-year-old West Bengal deputy magistrate Debdutta Ray, who was overseeing the movement of migrant workers succumbed to COVID-19 on Monday. The bureaucrat is the first senior civil servant in the state to die of the coronavirus.
Debdutta Ray was a West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) officer and posted as deputy magistrate at Chandannagore in Hooghly district.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted her condolence message on Monday night. The tweet read, “Grieved to hear about the untimely passing away of Debdatta Ray, who was posted as Deputy Magistrate & Deputy Collector in Chandannagar. A young WBCS (Exe) Officer, she was at the forefront fighting the pandemic & displayed outstanding devotion in discharge of her duties.”
“I, on behalf of the Govt of West Bengal, salute her spirit & the sacrifice she’s made in service of the people of #Bengal. Spoke to her husband today & extended my deepest condolences. May the departed soul rest in peace & lord give her family strength to endure this loss”, she added further.
Grieved to hear about the untimely passing away of Debdatta Ray, who was posted as Deputy Magistrate & Deputy Collector in Chandannagar. A young WBCS (Exe) Officer, she was at the forefront fighting the pandemic & displayed outstanding devotion in discharge of her duties. (1/2)
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 13, 2020
Ray, who lived in Lichu Bagan, Dum Dum, was a 2010 batch officer of West Bengal Civil Services (WBCS). She was earlier appointed as the Block Development Officer of Purulia.
According to the officials, Ray had tested positive last week at a hospital in Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas district. However, she opted to stay in quarantine at home. Her condition suddenly deteriorated on Sunday and she was rushed to a hospital in Serampore.
She is survived by her husband and a four-year-old son.
Meanwhile, 24 more people died due to COVID-19 in West Bengal, taking the total number of such fatalities in the state to 956, the Health Department said on Monday. Kolkata, with 418 fresh cases, continued to witness the highest number of infections in a day, followed by North 24 Parganas and Howrah recording 363 and 168 new cases, respectively.
The number of active cases in West Bengal currently stands at 11,279.
