Didn't Think Vijay Mallya Was Flight Risk: CBI On Diluted Lookout Notice
NEW DELHI: A lookout notice against Vijay Mallya, calling for his detention on sight at airports, was diluted months before he left India for the UK in the middle of loan fraud investigations against him. After the fugitive businessman's sensational claim about meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving, questions have been raised about the notice and why he was allowed to leave.
The CBI says the notice, put out on October 16, 2015, was converted weeks later on November 24 into a notice for "report on arrival" because it didn't believe Mr Mallya was a flight risk. The liquor tycoon had, at the time, frequently travelled between India and the UK.
The first notice, the investigation agency said, was a "mistake" -- the Mumbai immigration branch checked out the detention column while filling a form.
The notice was issued after the CBI registered its first case against Mr Mallya on July 29, 2015, based on information from sources -- no bank had formally complained, the agency says. When the lookout notice was issued in October, Mr Mallya was in London.
He returned the day the notice was downgraded, and left again on December 1.
The CBI says it received a call from immigration the day before his arrival, on November 23, asking whether Mr Mallya should be detained. That's when a corrected lookout circular was put out.
Mr Mallya left again for London on December 1 and returned on December 7. He left on December 23.
He returned on February 2, 2016 and left six days later. He returned again the same month and then left on March 2. This time, he never returned.
The CBI says Mr Mallya was questioned on December 9, 10 and 11. There was no reason to believe he could escape, said officials, defending the diluted notice.
Opposition parties have latched onto Mr Mallya's claims to once again attack the government and accuse it of letting big fish escape punishment.
Left leader Sitaram Yechury said Mr Mallya's escape reconfirmed how the Modi government "enables big defaulters to loot public money and scoot".
Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan criticised the CBI for diluting its lookout notice.
"Mallya says he met Jaitley to offer a settlement and told him he was going abroad. Jaitley says no particular settlement was offered. Whatever the truth, there is no denying that CBI lowered its lookout notice from 'detain' to 'inform', to allow his escape," Mr Bhushan said on Wednesday.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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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.
