Poonam Khetrapal re-elected in WHO
New Delhi, Sep 5 : Poonam Khetrapal Singh on Wednesday was elected as Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia for a second five-year term, World Health Organisation said.
Singh's candidature was unopposed, as the 11 member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region met at the ongoing Regional Committee session held here to elect the next Regional Director, the global health body said in a statement.
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda who chaired the Regional Committee meeting said: "She will surely lead the region to greater heights. Her commitment to the public health agenda in the member states was reflected in all flagship priorities of the region."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that she had brought a delivering results in countries -- a key theme of WHO's new General Programme of Work and of WHO's transformation project.
Thanking the member states for electing her, Singh said:"My vision is to consolidate, accelerate and innovate to further strengthen progress in the priority areas and translate vision into action."
Singh will commence her next five-year term on February 1, 2019.
She served in the health sector in various senior positions during her stint in the Indian Administrative Services and in the World Bank.
She also worked in WHO Director-General's cabinet in Geneva, as the Executive Director of Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments in WHO headquarters and was Deputy Regional Director WHO South-East Asia Region from 2000-2013.
As per WHO procedures, the WHO Executive Board, which next meets in Geneva in January 2019 is expected to confirm Khetrapal Singh's nomination and appoint her as the Regional Director.
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Two Delhi men held for BMTC bus phone thefts in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Whitefield police have arrested two men from Delhi for allegedly stealing mobile phones from passengers travelling in Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses and solved 14 theft cases, officials said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jai Chand (25), who worked at a hotel in Delhi, and Tarun (34), an autorickshaw driver in Delhi.
Officials said on January 24, a Mahadevapura resident lodged a complaint that his iPhone 15 Plus was stolen while he was travelling on a BMTC bus towards Whitefield.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case and arrested two suspects within an hour near a lodge on Hosa Road. During the arrest, the police found a bag containing several stolen mobile phones.
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“During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were stealing mobile phones from passengers travelling in BMTC buses. They had also committed thefts during a concert held under the Channarayapatna police station limits on January 23,” the police said.
Investigations revealed that the accused had travelled from Delhi for the concert and stolen mobile phones from the audience. A third suspect is at large and is likely hiding in the Shahdara area of Delhi.
One of the victims, a YouTuber, raised the theft issue in February in a post on X.
“Here is my (FIR No 0013/2026 is registered in Channarayapatana PS. Your GSC No. is PO1814260100013) request @DelhiPolice @BlrCityPolice to plz look into this & get my device back since it's my work phone & I am a youtuber, all my data is there! someone plz help. @dcpwhitefield,” Anirban Sarkar posted on X on February 6.
Police have recovered 14 mobile phones of various brands, collectively valued at about Rs 9 lakh, from the accused. The two were produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.
In total, one case from Whitefield and 13 from Channarayapatna police stations were detected. Further investigation is underway.
