Passport of seven NRI husbands suspended

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 12

The regional passport office here suspended the passport of seven NRI husbands. They had abandoned their wives soon after wedding.

According to Regional Passport Officer (RPO) Sibash Kabiraj, there were around 12,000 abandoned wives in the area under their jurisdiction.

As many as 24 districts, 12 each from Punjab and Haryana, and Chandigarh fall under the jurisdiction of passport office.

Congratulating the task force of the abandoned wives, which is helping the women facing the similar predicament, Sibash Kabiraj said, “Nearly 80 per cent of the total abandoned wives under the jurisdiction of the passport office belong to the 12 Punjab districts.” said Kabiraj.

Members of the task force have been provided a data operator, computer and printer. Further, they are being assisted by an official of the passport office.

The task force members are helping the authorities prepare cases against the NRI husbands, who evaded the law by escaping to foreign countries.

“As per directions of the External Affairs Ministry, we will cancel the passport of the NRI grooms against whom the police have registered cases and the court has issued summons,” said Kabiraj.

Helpline for victims

The passport office has launched a helpline (0172-2971918), where the abandoned wives can register their complaints.

mPassport Seva app launched

To tackle the delay in police verification, the Regional Passport Office launched the mPassport Seva application. RPO Sibash Kabiraj said with the help of the application, people could apply for a passport on their mobile phone. He said people could also check the status of their case through this application.

What it means

According to RPO Sibash Kabiraj, a show-cause notice will be issued to the NRI husbands, whose passport have been suspended. The suspension of passport will lead to the revoking of the visa. In this case, the NRI groom, whose passport has been suspended, will have to visit the regional passport office to file a reply to the show-cause notice and reissuing of the passport.