Delhi Excise policy: ED arrests 2 more earlier apprehended by CBI
New Delhi (PTI): The ED has arrested two businessmen-- Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally -- in connection with its ongoing money laundering probe into the Delhi Excise policy that was scraped following corruption allegations, official sources said Monday.
The two are currently in jail after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested them in the same case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will seek the custody of the two from a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, they said.
The Hyderabad-based Boinpally was allegedly lobbying for certain liquor businessmen based in southern India, according to the CBI.
Nair, a former CEO of an event management company, has been associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), according to the CBI and had entered into a criminal conspiracy with others, and in furtherance of the conspiracy related to the excise policy of the government of the national capital territory of Delhi (GNCTD) of 2021-2022.
The ED earlier arrested Sameer Mahandru, promoter of liquor company Indospirit, general manager of liquor company Pernod Ricard, Benoy Babu, and P Sarath Chandra Reddy, whole-time director and promoter of Aurobindo Pharma.
The agency has undertaken as many as 169 search operations in this case so far.
The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR that had named Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as an accused among others.
The CBI had raided the premises of Sisodia and some Delhi government bureaucrats after filing the case.
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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.
