7-year-old girl sexually assaulted by canteen boy at pvt school in Palghar; accused detained
Palghar, Aug 24: A seven-year-old girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted by a teen working in the canteen at a private school in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Saturday.
Based on a complaint, the police on Friday detained the 16-year-old accused, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, and sent him to a remand home, senior inspector Ramesh Bhame of Naigaon police station said.
The alleged incident occurred at a private school in Naigaon, he said.
The matter came to light when the girl, a Class 2 student, refused to go to the school canteen on Thursday and informed her class teacher that an "uncle" working there troubled her, the official said.
The school headmaster was informed, and further inquiries with the girl revealed that the accused allegedly sexually assaulted her on three to four occasions over the last 15 days, he said.
The headmaster intimated the Naigaon police, and a case was registered under sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official said.
The police have seized the CCTV footage from the school and are enquiring if the accused had similarly abused any other student, he said.
The accused had come to work in the canteen two months ago from Uttar Pradesh, the official 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.
