Bhopal, Apr 13 (PTI): Police have apprehended nine persons in connection with stone-pelting during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in Madhya Pradesh's Guna city, officials said on Sunday.

The incident took place at around 7.45 pm on Saturday near a mosque in Colonelganj area when members of two communities came face-to-face, following which the authorities rushed to the site to bring the situation under control, they said.

The situation was currently peaceful, the officials said.

"Eight-nine persons from among those involved in the stone-pelting have been taken into custody. They will be charged on the basis of videos and CCTV footage of the incident. More persons are being identified," Additional Superintendent of Police Man Singh Thakur told PTI.

The police were searching for the other accused and they will be arrested, he said.

The incident occurred when the procession was passing in front of a mosque. There was some communication-gap during which the two groups came face-to-face, leading to stone-pelting, Guna Collector Kishore Kanyal said.

There was no permission to take out the procession in that area, he said.

However, Ranjeet Khatik, one of the procession organisers, said, "The administration is saying that there was no permission but I have all the proof of the permission."

Stones were pelted when some boys raised slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram', while the other group, in retaliation, raised 'Allahhu Akbar' slogan, he claimed.

The information about the stone-pelting at a procession was received at around 7.45 pm on Saturday, when members of two communities came face-to-face, Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Sinha said.

The police force, posted at Tekri Dham, rushed to the spot, he said.

Based on a complaint by a local corporator, a case has been registered in which four-five persons have been named while 15-20 others are unidentified, the official said.

Security forces from neighbouring districts have been deployed here, he said.

Thakur said police personnel from three districts arrived and they were deployed in different areas.

The situation is under control now, the collector said.

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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.