97-year-old first to get COVID-19 vaccine in Bengaluru in general category
Bengaluru: A 97-year old man became the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine here as the drive for inoculating the general public got underway in Karnataka on Monday.
After the vaccination drive since January 16 covered health workers and frontline workers, the next phase started from Monday for all people above 60 years of age and those over 45 with comorbidities.
Senior citizens sporting face masks queued up at private Manipal Hospitals here for getting the vaccine shot.
Some of the beneficiaries were wheelchair bound.
"Ramaswami Parthasarathy, 97-year-old, was the first to get vaccinated," Manipal Hospitals said in a statement.
The hospital appealed to the senior citizens and people above 45 years with comorbidities to register themselves for inoculation.
"We at Manipal Hospitals have started the vaccination drive today. The registrations for the vaccination can be competed online through the CoWIN app, and people in the age group of 60 plus can directly walk-in for the vaccination," it said in the statement.
The hospital was cooperating with the government and abiding by the standard procedures and protocols for the vaccination drive, it added.
Meanwhile, the government hospitals too started the preparations for vaccination.
"Today only we got direction from the government. We are starting the registration process from today and will begin the vaccination drive once the preparations are over," Director and Dean of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Dr C R Jayanthi told PTI.
The state government has said vaccination will take place at all its taluk and district level hospitals and two identified private hospitals in each district.
According to the state health department, vaccination days will be Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays in government facilities and all working days in private hospitals.
The number of vaccinations would be limited to 200 per day per session site and would be on a first come first serve basis. However, online registered beneficiaries would be allotted a specific time in a day.
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Rape-accused 'godman' Kharat sent to judicial custody till April 14
Nashik (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Nashik on Wednesday remanded rape-accused self-styled godman Ashok Kharat in a 14-day judicial custody.
Kharat was arrested on March 18 after a 35-year-old woman accused him of repeated rape over a period of three years. Following his arrest, multiple rape complaints were filed against him.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is conducting a probe against Kharat.
As his police custody ended on Wednesday, he was produced before the court. During the hearing, the SIT sought his judicial custody.
Accordingly, sessions judge B N Ichpurani remanded Kharat in judicial custody till April 14. He will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail.
Kharat is scheduled to be produced in a court in another case on Thursday.
At least 10 FIRs, eight for alleged sexual assault or exploitation and two for cheating, have been registered against Kharat at Sarkarwada police station in Nashik, while the SIT has received more than 100 complaints over the phone against him.
On Wednesday, an SIT team detained Kharat's son Harshvardhan for questioning from their residence in Karmayogi Nagar here. He was let off at night.
The investigators are also trying to trace Kharat's wife Kalpana in connection with the probe against her husband. She is also named in a cheating case in Ahilyanagar district.
'Godman' Kharat heads a temple trust at Sinnar in Nashik and had several political leaders visit him over the years.
Last week, the SIT visited Kharat's office in Nashik along with a forensic science team, from where they recovered several documents, files and other evidence.
Notably, a 20-feet remote-controlled mechanised snake was also seized from his office. Kharat allegedly used the snake to make his visitors believe that he could control a live snake and thus possessed supernatural powers.
