Gujarat court grants bail to Islamic preacher Mufti Salman Azhari in 'hate speech' case
Junagadh, Feb 7: A court in Gujarat's Junagadh district on Wednesday granted bail to Islamic preacher Mufti Salman Azhari and two others in connection with a "hate speech" case registered against them.
Chief Judicial Magistrate SA Pathan granted bail to Mumbai-based Azhari and two other persons -- both local residents who had organised the religious event in Junagadh on January 31 where the preacher allegedly delivered an inflammatory speech.
As soon as Azhari and his co-accused, Mohammad Yousuf Malek and Azim Habib Odedara, were produced before the court after their one-day police remand ended at 4 pm and sent in judicial custody, their lawyers moved pleas for their regular bail.
After hearing both sides, the court granted them bail on a bond of Rs 15,000 each, Azhari's lawyer Shakil Sheikh said.
Azhari was arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) from Mumbai on Sunday and brought to the state on a transit remand in connection with an FIR registered against him and two organisers of a religious event after a video of an inflammatory speech allegedly delivered by the Islamic preacher in Junagadh on the night of January 31 went viral on social media.
On Tuesday, the Junagadh court had sent the trio to one-day police custody as against the 10-day remand sought by the local crime branch, which is probing the case.
"After hearing both sides, the court accepted the bail applications of all three accused on a bail bond of Rs 15,000 each," Sheikh told media persons.
Among the bail conditions imposed by the court are that they cannot leave the country without its permission, will not destroy evidence and provide their residential addresses to the court, among others, he said.
Azhari has been named as an accused in another FIR lodged by the Kutch police for allegedly giving an inflammatory speech at a religious function at Samakhiari town in the district on January 31 (both events took place the same day).
Among the arguments put forward by Azhari's lawyer while seeking his bail was that the words used in his speech do not target any particular community or cause any adverse impact on the community.
The government opposed their bail applications.
After the video went viral, an FIR was registered in Junagadh against Azhari and local organizers Malek and Odedara under Indian Penal Code sections 153B (promoting enmity between different religious groups) and 505 (2) (making statements conducive to public mischief).
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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.
