Doctor murder: Polygraph tests done on accused, CBI conducts search in financial irregularity case
Kolkata (PTI): Stepping up the attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday announced a series of programmes to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at a state-run hospital here over two weeks back.
The programmes will be held across the state between August 28 and September 4, said Majumdar, also a Union minister.
Demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation for her alleged failure to address the core issue of women's safety, Majumdar said the party will begin a sit-in at Esplanade area of Kolkata from August 28 while the party's women's wing will lock the gate of the state women’s commission.
"The state women's commission seems to have gone into a stupor," Majumdar told reporters on the sidelines of a demonstration by BJP at Shyambazar area of the city.
The BJP leader said that on August 29, party activists will gherao the district magistrate's office in every district at 12 noon while protests will be held outside the administrative offices in every block on September 2.
On September 4, a 'chakka jam' will be observed everywhere in the state stalling the movement of traffic for one hour, he said.
Majumdar claimed the ongoing CBI probe into the alleged financial irregularities in R G Kar Hospital showed the nexus between the state and the corrupt hospital lobby.
The chief minister is shielding "big fishes involved in the shady deals amounting to crores," he alleged.
“We demand the phone conversation between the CM and a powerful official of the hospital be brought under the ambit of investigation by CBI,” the union minister of state for education said.
Responding to BJP’s planned programmes, TMC state spokesperson Joy Prakash Majumdar said, "To divert the focus from the delay by CBI in tracking the perpetrators of the crime, the BJP is trying to foment trouble in the state and disrupt normal life."
"While the entire West Bengal is asking the CBI to ensure justice is done to the victim doctor, the BJP's only demand is resignation of the CM who has expressed solidarity with the victim's family and stood by them. She also reiterated her government and party's stance about zero tolerance to incidents like rape."
Another TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said the main demand of every citizen of the state centres around the punishment of all those involved in the rape and murder of the doctor, but the BJP is talking about so-called financial irregularities in the hospital.
"This shows BJP is not serious about the main issue of women's safety, the issue flagged by lakhs of women in Bengal. TMC shares the concern of the women of Bengal and demands justice for the R G Kar victim. The CBI should speed up the probe on this," Ghosh 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.
