Judges, Cops In Late-Night Drama Over Activist Sudha Bharadwaj's Arrest
NEW DELHI: The tussle over the custody of arrested human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj carried on well past midnight after her lawyers alleged that the Pune Police refused to comply with the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The High Court had barred her from being taken to Pune, ordering that she be kept under house arrest till August 30.
Sudha Bharadwaj is one of the five activists who were arrested on Tuesday during a multi-city sweep by the Pune Police over allegations of Maoist links. The arrests, made in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence on December 31 - in which Dalit activists had clashed with upper-caste Marathas - triggered widespread shock and anger.
Later in the evening, after a local magistrate dismissed her transit bail application, the Punjab and Haryana High court provided her relief, ordering that she could not be taken to Pune till the magistrate concerned took a call on her transit remand.
Her lawyers, however, said that even after the High Court's order, the Pune Police whisked her away from the house of the Chief Judicial Magistrate. "This is contempt of court," said her lawyer Sanjeev Chaudhary.
When there was no news of the activist's whereabouts, her lawyers declared that they would approach the court immediately.
"They are neither respecting the order of the High Court, nor are they disclosing the whereabouts of a woman in their custody. This is an extremely serious situation and a brazen violation of the court's order," the lawyers, among them Vrinda Grover, said.
Soon after, Ms Bharadwaj was spotted sitting in a car outside the magistrate's house and she was taken inside for a hearing on the next steps.
Her advocate Vrinda Grover said, "The CJM has gone to the residence of the district judge for advice on the matter. It is midnight and the counsels are waiting at the residence of the CJM while Sudha Bharadwaj is being detained in a vehicle on the road."
Around 1 am, the magistrate granted Ms Bharadwaj house arrest and asked the police to comply with the high court order, ending the midnight drama.
Ms Bharadwaj, who has been representing tribals in various cases, has been lauded for her work at the grassroot level. As the activist was arrested from her home in Faridabad in presence of her daughter, friends and associates rallied around her and rubbished the allegations of the Pune Police.
Historian and author Ramachandra Guha tweeted, "As a biographer of Gandhi, I have no doubt that if the Mahatma was alive today, he would don his lawyer's robes and defend Sudha Bharadwaj in court; that is assuming the Modi Sarkar hadn't yet detained and arrested him too".
courtesy : ndtv.com
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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.
