Revocation of 500 passports hints at official-agent nexus
CHANDIGARH: What seems to be just a tip of the iceberg can actually lead to a deep and undeniable nexus between travel agents and officials at the passport department. While the revocation of over 500 ‘ghost’ passports from Punjab and Haryana could bring untraced violators to book, it also points at chinks in the system of issuance of passports.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times, regional passport officer (RPO) Sibash Kabiraj said, “These cases pertain to police verification on post-passport issuance basis, wherein passports are already issued.”
“These applicants either suppressed some information or provided incorrect data. In some cases, no occupants were found at the given addresses. Such people indeed pose a risk to national security as well the interest of public at large,” Kabiraj added.
A legislator from Atam Nagar constituency in Ludhiana, Simarjeet Singh Bains, who happens to belong to Lok Insaaf Party, has also been accused of similar violation.
Bains allegedly held back the information about criminal cases pending against him in various courts and managed to reach Australia by the time police authorities could inform RPO about his record in the postpassport verification report.
On this, Kabiraj said, “No one expects an MLA to furnish wrong information. However, we will take appropriate action against him.”
He said inquiries will be conducted to unearth possible nexus, if any, and efforts will be made to plug holes in the system.
The officer said these untraced offenders will have to surface, even if they managed to fly out of India.
“They will be busted whenever they would seek to return to India or move anywhere else,” he added.
Kabiraj claimed that in several these cases, either warrants were issued against applicants or they hailed from other part of the country and had criminal background.
FALLOUT OF REVOCATION
Once a passport is revoked or impounded, an Indian citizen can only travel back to the country on a one-time document. This ‘emergency certificate’ is issued by Indian diplomatic missions abroad.