Jailed Meghalaya BJP leader Bernard Marak granted bail in three-year-old girl's rape case
Shillong (PTI): BJP leader Bernard N Marak was granted bail by the Meghalaya High Court in a case pertaining to the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl at his farmhouse in West Garo Hills district.
Marak, an elected member of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council and also the state BJP vice-president, was earlier granted bail in connection with the running of a brothel in the farmhouse and the seizure of arms and ammunition from the premises.
Passing the bail order on Monday in the final case pending against him related to the farmhouse, a single bench of Justice W Diengdoh observed that there was no direct evidence linking Marak to the alleged sexual assault of the child, and noted that the politician was confined on "very filmsy grounds".
The BJP leader was directed not to leave the country or try to tamper with the evidence, and asked to appear before the investigating officer as and when required, besides paying a personal bond of Rs 30,000 with two solvent sureties of like amount.
Disposing of the bail petition filed by the BJP leader's brother Tingku N Marak, the court stated that the accused was not apprehended along with the girl during a raid on his farmhouse, and to say that he is likely to be the offender only due to the fact that he is the owner of the property is "too far fetched".
"On consideration of the facts and circumstances involving the case of the accused brother of the petitioner, keeping in mind the value of liberty of a person who is confined in custody on very flimsy grounds, this court is of the opinion that the instant petition has some merits," it stated.
On July 26, Bernard N Marak was arrested from Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh after he allegedly absconded following the busting of a "sex racket" at his farmhouse that led to the rescue of 25 minors and arrest of 73 people.
The three-year-old girl was among those found in the farmhouse. Her medical examination confirmed that she was sexually abused and during further investigation, Marak was named among the accused.
However, the examination stated that sexual abuse perpetrated against her was not of recent origin. She has been placed in a children's home.
Following nearly a month in police custody, Marak was remanded to judicial custody, and he was in prison for the last three months.
Earlier, on October 1, the court granted bail to Marak in cases related to the farmhouse, while hearing a bail application filed by his wife L K Gracy.
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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.
