2 Jaish militants gunned down in Shopian, were involved in killing of many civilians, cops: Police
Srinagar: Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants involved in the killing of a number of civilians and police personnel were on Saturday gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
The slain militants have been identified as Abid Wagay, a resident of Rawalpora Shopian, and Shahjahan Mir, hailing of Amshepora Shopian, a police spokesman said.
Based on a credible input about the presence of militants in Gahand area of Shopian district of south Kashmir, a cordon and search operation was launched by security forces there this morning, the spokesman said.
He said during the searches, the militants fired upon the security personnel who retaliated. Two militants were killed in the ensuing encounter.
The bodies were retrieved from the site of the encounter and incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were seized.
According to police records, both of the militants were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM, he said
They were wanted for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities, he said.
They were involved in the abduction and subsequent killings of civilians Firdous Ahmad of Batgund and Nissar Ahmad of Kapran and policeman Balwant Singh of Batgund last year, the spokesman said.
"They were also involved in the killing of Khusboo Jan at Viel Shopian earlier this year. Moreover, both were also involved in the killing of a civilian Tanveer Ahmad of Bemnipora at Kachdoora in Shopian.
"They were also involved in arson and setting ablaze panchayat ghars at Kanjiullar and Ramnagar, he added.
The spokesman said Mir was also involved in snatching of weapons and killing of four police personnel at Arhama Shopian last year.
He (Mir) was also involved in attack on police station Shopian in which one cop Saqib Mohi-ud-Din had attained martyrdom and his rifle was snatched.
"He was involved in the abduction and killing of a young boy Huzaif Ashraf Kuttay resident of Manzgam D H Pora, he said.
Several cases were registered against both of them for planning and executing terror attacks on security establishments and killing of civilians in the area, the spokesman said.
"With the efforts of police and other security forces, it was a clean operation and no collateral damage happened during the encounter," the spokesman said.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
