Two sisters were denied their passports by authorities in the Chandigarh office because they “seem to be Nepali” and were asked to prove their nationality. They said that the process to issue their passports started only after the sisters approached Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij.
The incident took place on Wednesday when the two sisters, Santosh and Sushma, went to the regional passport office, requesting to issue their passports. However, they did not expect the officer in charge to deny it by writing “applicants seem to be Nepali”. The sisters alleged that the officer wrote the remarks and rejected their application without even checking the required documents that they had furnished.
Following this, they went with their complaint to the home minister, who called up Ambala Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sharma to sort out the matter. The deputy commissioner confirmed that the passport office authority denied the passport and wrote “applicants seem to be Nepali” on their documents.
Sharma said that he has taken cognizance of the matter and the women will receive their passports soon. He added that the officer has been ordered to check the documents to verify facts and not make passing remarks while issuing passports. He also said that an inquiry will be conducted and appropriate action will be taken.
