Court extends police custody of Badlapur sexual abuse case accused till Aug 26
Thane (PTI): A local court on Wednesday extended till August 26 the police custody of the man arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra's Thane district.
The accused, who was employed as an attendant at the school where the incident took place last week, was produced before a magistrate at Kalyan in the district this morning amid tight police security.
The court ordered the extension of his police custody till August 26, following which he was taken away by the police in a van, a senior official said.
The police had arrested the accused on August 17.
As per the complaint, he abused two kindergarten girls in the toilet of the school, the police have said.
A massive protest broke out on Tuesday after parents of the school children and local citizens blocked railway tracks at Badlapur station and ransacked a local school building to protest against the incident and to demand strict punishment for the accused.
Following the protest, the Maharashtra government announced formation of a special investigation team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to probe the incident.
Internet services in Badlapur town have been suspended in the wake of the protest and violence.
At least 25 police personnel were injured in stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur on Tuesday and the police have arrested at least 72 persons in connection with the violence.
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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.
