SC directs ex-Jharkhand minister to surrender before Ranchi court by Apr 15
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday directed former Jharkhand minister Yogendra Sao to surrender before a court in Ranchi by April 15 in cases related to rioting and inciting of violence.
A bench headed by Justice S A Bobde said that Sao will have to surrender by Monday.
Advocate Tapesh Kumar Singh, appearing for Jharkhand, said that Sao can surrender before the concerned trial court in Ranchi.
He said all the case records have been transferred to Ranchi in compliance with the apex court order.
The apex court order came on a plea of Sao seeking clarification of the order on the place of his surrender.
The top court had on April 4, trashed Sao's plea seeking to campaign for the Congress in the current Lok Sabha polls and cancelled his bail, saying he has violated the bail conditions.
It had transferred the trial of 18 cases against Sao and his wife Nirmala Devi to Ranchi from Hazaribagh district in Jharkhand.
Sao became a minister in the Hemant Soren-led UPA government in Jharkhand in 2013. He is an accused in over a dozen cases of rioting and instigation of violence.
Both Sao and Devi were granted bail on December 15, 2017, by the top court and directed to stay in Bhopal as a bail condition.
They were allowed to visit Jharkhand only for court hearings under police protection after intimating the Bhopal superintendent of police.
It was found that Sao left Bhopal on several occasions without any intimation to local authorities despite the court directions and his presence in Jharkhand during the corresponding period was not disputed, the court had earlier 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.
