Munawar Faruqui case: Two co-accused get interim bail
Bhopal, Feb 12: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday granted interim bail to two men accused of organising a comedy show in Indore, during which stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui allegedly insulted Hindu deities.
Faruqui, who was arrested on January 1 and was in jail since January 2, was set free on bail last week.
A single bench of the high court comprising Justice Rohit Arya granted bail to the two co-accused Prakhar Vyas and Adwin Anthony.
In two separate orders that ran identical, Justice Arya observed, "The applicant is held entitled for temporary bail maintaining parity in light of the order of February 5 passed by the Supreme Court (granting bail to Faruqui)."
"Accordingly, applicant is hereby enlarged on temporary bail on the conditions to the satisfaction of the trial court, with further condition that applicant shall not indulge himself in any such activity subversive to public order," the order stated.
Comedian Faruqui and five others involved in organising the show in Indore were arrested following a complaint by Eklavya Singh Gaud, son of local BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaud.
The MLA's son had alleged that objectionable comments were made about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the show held on January 1.
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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.
