Thane court sentences three people to 3 years RI for kidnapping baby
Thane (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Thane has sentenced three people to three years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping a five-month-old baby in the city.
Additional sessions judge Suryakant S Shinde found the accused, including two women, guilty of charges under section 137(1)(b) (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for the crime that took place in October last year.
A copy of the order dated December 15 was made available on Saturday.
As per the case details, the infant's mother, Vanita Rakesh Pawar, a scrap collector, reported that he was abducted while the family was sleeping under the Rabodi flyover bridge on October 12, 2024.
Following a swift investigation, the CCTV footage from nearby buildings was analysed, and it captured a woman in a red dress picking up the baby and later meeting two other accused to hand him over.
Based on a tip-off, a police team raided a premises in Rabodi, rescued the baby, and arrested Javed Amjat Ali Nhavi (35), Jayashree Yakub Naik (45), and Surekha Rajesh Khandagale (34).
The judge relied on the digital evidence and noted that Nhavi had been externed from Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai and had violated the externment order.
He received an additional one-year sentence under the Maharashtra Police Act for entering Thane despite an active externment (expulsion) order.
The court acquitted them of charges under section 143 (trafficking), noting that while kidnapping was proven, the "exact purpose" (such as sale or forced labour) was not established by the prosecution.
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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.
