‘Nirbhaya’ vehicles diverted for escort duties

Misuse of Nirbhaya fund vehicles in Kozhikode City police for VIP escort raises concerns over women's safety.

In a suspected case of misuse, new vehicles allotted to the Kozhikode City police under the Nirbhaya fund to fight crimes against women are frequently being deployed for the escort of ministers and other VIPs. The shortage of mechanically fit vehicles is claimed to be the prime reason behind the diversion of ‘Nirbhaya’ vehicles to the unintended route.

Police sources said five vehicles were being frequently used for unpermitted escort service. All these vehicles have displayed the pan-India single emergency number-112. The alleged negligence continues at a time when the vehicles are in need in case of emergency calls from the State control room in Thiruvananthapuram.

“During official escort or pilot duty, no vehicle in the convoy can be diverted for any other emergency duty for safety reasons. The officers are aware of this fact, but the lack of other fit vehicles is pushing them to take the risk,” said a sub inspector who did not want to be named. The police require additional vehicles to meet the growing service demands and to stop relying on limited transportation facilities, he added.

According to police sources, there are over 10 new vehicles in Kozhikode city alone, which were sanctioned a few years ago under the Nirbhaya scheme for improving women’s safety. The vehicles are all mechanically fit with a comparatively low odometer reading. Most of them are now used to substitute with the rundown vehicles, having poor mileage and odometer reading of above 2-lakh-km or more.

Though similar changes in the use of vehicles have been noticed in other districts as well, no official order has come from any quarters to discourage the trend and keep them ready for the allotted purpose. Police sources said there were even patrol vehicles that had crossed over 6-lakh-km in service. Replacement of these vehicles should be prioritised instead of adjusting with other vehicles, they added.

Meanwhile, senior police officers said there were “no grave incidents of misusing” the allotted vehicles. The vehicles were used for escort service only after making alternative arrangements to handle emergency situations in time, they added.