10 arrested in Delhi for running baby-selling racket
New Delhi, Nov 18: Ten people were arrested for allegedly running a baby-selling racket here and five babies were rescued, police said on Sunday.
A 24-page charge-sheet was filed in a city court against the 10 people on November 14, they said.
Acting on a tip-off, two police personnel met one of the accused posing as a childless couple on August 14.
"A woman sub-inspector Preeti and head constable Rajesh posed as husband and wife and met one of the accused Mohammad Jahangir," the charge-sheet said.
The couple chose a baby and Jahangir demanded Rs 4.30 lakh but after some negotiations, the final amount was decided at Rs 3.30 lakh.
"He asked the couple to get the money in an hour and told the two that his accomplices Jyoti and Rahul will bring the child near a bank in Naraina Vihar," the charge-sheet said.
Jahangir was arrested after he handed over a newborn baby to the police personnel, it said.
The baby was admitted to a hospital, where he died on August 26.
Jyoti and Rahul were arrested and during interrogation, they told police that the baby was bought from Mithila, a resident of New Friends Colony.
Subsequently, Mithila was arrested and police later learned about one Jitendar Kumar, who was also involved in the racket.
Kumar told police about one Kavita who had bought a five to seven days' old infant from a woman agent named Parveen for Rs 4 lakh and later sold the child to a chemist named Balbir Singh for Rs 5 lakh, the charge-sheet said.
More arrests were made but Kavita continued to remain elusive. A non-bailable warrant was issued against her by a city court on September 10.
Later, a lookout circular was also issued against her and she surrendered on September 20.
The charge-sheet was filed under various sections of the IPC pertaining to kidnapping, trafficking, forgery of record of court or of public register and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
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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.
