Kolkata (PTI): CPI(M) leader Kalatan Dasgupta was among two persons who were arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to attack the protesting junior doctors, police said on Saturday.

The arrests were made after an audio clip of a phone call was released by TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, who alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to attack the protesting junior doctors outside the Swashtya Bhawan in Salt Lake to defame the Mamata Banerjee government in the state.

Police lodged a suo motu case in connection with the audio clip that was released on Friday.

The other person arrested in the case was identified as Sanjiv Das, police said.

Das was arrested from Haltu in south Kolkata on Friday night, while Dasgupta was held from the protest site outside Swashtya Bhawan in Sector 5, they said.

The medics have been camping outside Swasthya Bhawan, the headquarters of the state Health Department, since Tuesday with a host of demands, including better security at state-run hospitals and the removal of top officials over the rape and murder of the doctor at the RG Kar MCH last month.

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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.