Odisha varsity's VC loses Rs 14 lakh in 'digital arrest' fraud, 2 nabbed from Gujarat
Berhampur, Apr 13 (PTI): Two persons were arrested from Gujarat for allegedly defrauding the vice chancellor of Odisha's Berhampur University, Geetanjali Dash, of Rs 14 lakh, police said on Sunday.
Identifying themselves as Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers, the accused reached out to Dash, claiming that she was involved in a money laundering case, they said.
She was kept under "digital arrest" from February 14 to 22, and asked to deposit all her cash for a priority investigation. Accordingly, she transferred Rs 14 lakh to them, police said.
Eventually, they returned her Rs 80,000 with the assurance that the rest would be given after verification. However, she did not get back the rest of the money, they said
Dash filed a complaint with the police on February 24, following which the arrests were made from Bhavnagar in Gujarat earlier last week.
Those arrested were identified as Bhutaiya Jenil Jaysukhbhai (23) and Vishwajeetsinh Gohil (21), police said.
The accused were brought to Berhampur on a five-day transit remand on Saturday, they said.
Several incriminating items, including mobile phones and Aadhar cards, were seized from them, police said.
Superintendent of Police of Berhampur Saravana Vivek M said the duo was part of a gang involved in several cyber crimes in various parts of the country.
"Efforts are being made to arrest the other members of the gang. Investigation is underway to trace their pan-India network and map the complete money trail," he said.
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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.
