Man assaults health workers for administering anti-measles vaccine to his kids

Police on Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly “abusing and assaulting several health workers” for administering doses of anti-measles vaccine to his two daughters, who were brought to the immunisation centre in Tauru by their mother, said officials on Thursday

Police on Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly “abusing and assaulting several health workers” for administering doses of anti-measles vaccine to his two daughters, who were brought to the immunisation centre in Tauru by their mother, said officials on Thursday.

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Police said the man, who works as a driver, reached the vaccine centre, and first abused his wife for getting their daughters the vaccine, without his permission.

Arvind Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Tauru police station, said that the suspect -- identified as Harun (goes by first name), a resident of Nihalgarh village in Tauru -- not only misbehaved, but also manhandled the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers for administering the vaccine jabs to his daughters at the immunisation centre in Nihalgarh.

“The suspect’s wife was at the centre with their two daughters. Harun first abused and assaulted her, and then the staff. He created a ruckus, following which the district administration and police were informed about the incident. A team of officials of the Tauru police reached the spot immediately, but the suspect had escaped by then,” Kumar said.

A case was registered against the suspect under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public function), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 294 (abusing) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Tauru police station, said police.

Kumat further said that a police team, however, spotted and nabbed him from a Gudha Gudhi village crossing, while he was on way to another village on Wednesday.

Harun allegedly confessed to the crime, saying “he has no remorse”.

Nirmal Yadav, a health worker, said that many villagers of Nuh are being reluctant to get their children vaccinated against any disease. “The father told us that we vaccinated his daughters without his consent, and also threatened that he would kill us if we ever entered the village for any vaccination drive,” Yadav said.

Ajay Kumar, deputy commissioner of Nuh, said, “We have now formed dedicated teams for the safety and security of our staff. If anyone is found misbehaving with the health workers, strict action will be taken against them. Safety and security of our staff is our prime concern,” said the Nuh deputy commissioner.

In July, the district health department launched a drive after a suspected measles outbreak in Nuh. Dr Surender Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO) of Nuh, said that along with special camps set up in 150 villages, vaccination drives have also been launched. “We conducted a survey on these 150 villages and found that the vaccination rate at 52 villages was hardly 20%, and the villagers did not even allow their children to receive anti-measles vaccine doses. Villagers do not get their children to take the mandatory MMR vaccine, which could have been the primary cause of the suspected outbreak,” said the Nuh CMO.

Yadav said following the low vaccination rates, the health department started an inoculation drive in 52 villages with an aim to improve the vaccination rate but challenges such as the latest incident had left the staff fearful.

Heath officials said that 150 suspected cases of measles were reported in the district over the last three months and 80% of these patients were under five years of age, while the remaining were in the age group of five to 15 years.

The Nuh district has historically reported low immunization rates due to lack of awareness, movement and migration of population to neighbouring areas and religious beliefs, said Yadav.