Case against NIT professor in Kerala for 'proud of Godse' comment
Kozhikode, Feb 3: The Kerala police on Saturday registered a case against a woman professor of the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT) for her Facebook comment "expressing pride" in Nathuram Godse for assassinating Mahatma Gandhi and thus "saving India".
Multiple complaints were lodged against Professor A Shaija in several police stations in the city by various student organisations, including SFI, KSU and MSF, following which an FIR was registered against her.
IPC Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause riot) was invoked against the professor.
Kunnamangalam and Nadakkavu police stations were among the stations were complaints were filed against her.
Shaija, a senior faculty member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NIT here on January 30 posted a comment on Facebook saying "Proud of Godse for saving India".
She had commented on a post by a lawyer, Krishna Raj, who posted Godse's photograph saying Hindu Mahasabha activist Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a hero of many in India.
A senior police official of the district told PTI that a case has been registered against the professor and the investigation has begun.
However, as the matter became a controversy, the professor deleted her comment.
The NIT has been marred by controversy for the past few weeks after a section of students celebrated the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
A student named Vyshakh, who reportedly protested against the celebration was suspended by the college following a brawl between two sections of the students.
Meanwhile, Kunnamangalam police on Friday registered a case against 10 students for allegedly assaulting Kailas on January 22.
The action against Vyshakh was freezed on February 2 after he approached the appellate authority in the institution.
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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.
