Hindu-Muslim couple get passports after Sushma intervenes
Lucknow, June 21: A Hindu woman married to a Muslim got her passport on Thursday, following External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's intervention, barely 24 hours after a passport officer rejected her application on the grounds that she had not changed her surname.
Regional Passport Official Piyush Verma on Thursday gave the passport to Tanvi Sethi while the passport of her husband Mohammad Anas Siddiqui was renewed and also handed over.
Sethi alleged misbehaviour by passport officer Vikas Mishra on Wednesday when she had gone to the passport office here. She said her passport application was rejected on the grounds that she had not changed her surname even after 12 years of marriage to a Muslim man.
She later tweeted to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Sushma Swaraj with her complaint. Both responded to her plea.
Passport officer Mishra has since been transferred to Gorakhpur and an explanation has been sought from him, an official told IANS.
Sethi and her husband said they were very happy at the alacrity with which the PMO and the MEA responded.
The officer accused of misbehaviour, however, denied the charges and said he had only told Sethi of the rules laid down in such cases.
Senior officials said that old rules mandated that a marriage certificate be produced in cases of inter-religious marriages during the passport application procedure, though adding that the officer was not right in ill-treating the woman and shouting at her.
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IPL betting racket busted in Goa; four held
Panaji (PTI): Police have busted an Indian Premier League (IPL) betting racket operating out of a house in South Goa, arresting four persons, an official said on Sunday.
A team from Verna police raided the premises in the Shindolim area of Sancoale village near Vasco on Saturday night and caught the accused red-handed while accepting bets on the cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, he said.
The accused, Pranjal Tiwari (23), Amar Dawda (33), Shashank Kumar Sahu (19) and Sandeep Singh (23), hailed from Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and were staying in a rented premises.
As many as 10 mobile phones, two laptops, a tablet, an internet router with a signal receiver and cash worth Rs 37,000 were seized from the house, the official said, adding that a case has been registered under the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act.
