Vehicle carrying T Nazeer stuck for an hour

KOCHI: A grave security lapse from the state police was exposed on Wednesday when the vehicle transporting terror-accused Thadiyantavida Nazeer from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur was stuck on the National Highway for more than an hour.  The vehicle carrying Nazeer ran out of fuel at Aroor. The police personnel accompanying Nazeer informed the Palluruthy police station and a vehicle from Kochi was rushed to the spot with diesel. The lapse is seen to be a serious one on the part of the officials as the national highway was heavy with traffic and anything could have happened, a senior police official said. Nazeer was being shifted from Poojappura Central Prison to Kannur Central Prison as part of the investigation. “The driver of the van thought that the fuel would last till Ernakulam. But the fuel was over before the expected limit,” sources said. “The van was stopped for an hour on the national highway. The incident occurred mainly because of the lethargic attitude of the driver and the jail authorities. The prison authorities should have shown more responsibility when transporting persons like Nazeer,” the police official said. Express had earlier reported about the lack of vehicles for transporting accused persons.