New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Thursday sent Yasir Ahmad Dar, the ninth person arrested in the Red Fort blast case, to NIA custody till December 26.

Special Judge Prashant Sharma allowed the plea of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking custodial interrogation of the accused.

Earlier in the day, the NIA arrested Dar, a Jammu and Kashmir resident, allegedly a close associate of suicide bomber Umar-un-Nabi.

Dar allegedly played an active role in the conspiracy behind the blast that claimed 15 lives and left many others injured on November 10, the NIA said.

An active participant in the conspiracy, Dar had allegedly taken an oath to carry out self-sacrificial operations, the agency said.

It said Dar was in close contact with the other accused persons in the case, including Umar-un-Nabi and Mufti Irfan.

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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.