@SushmaSwaraj hello ma’am I type this tweet with immense faith in justice and in you and ironically with a lot of a… https://t.co/nX4XiKYKUn — Tanvi Seth (@tanvianas) 1529483527000 NEW DELHI: A passport office official in Lucknow who insulted an interfaith couple was today transferred to another location, reported Times Now.The ministry of external affairs has also sought a report from the Lucknow office about the unsavoury episode from yesterday that involved the official, Vikas Mishra , asking a Muslim to convert to Hinduism if he wanted his passport renewed. A show cause notice has also been issued to Misra.In addition, the couple's passport renewals - that were beings stalled - have been approved as of today, reported ANI news agency. "We regret the incident and will ensure it is not repeated," said Lucknow's regional passport officer, said ANI.The incident came to light when Lucknow woman Tanvi Seth tweeted to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj about the mistreatment she and her husband Anas Siddiqui faced from the official, Mishra, at the Passport Sewa Kendra at Lucknow's Ratan Square. "When I reached counter C5, the official, Vikas Mishra, told me there was an issue with my file since I had married a Muslim, and yet retained my maiden name. He shouted at me and insulted me in front of everyone and sent me to the office of an additional passport officer, who was sympathetic to me and asked me to reach the main branch in Gomtinagar on Thursday," said Tanvi, who has a six-year-old daughter with Anas, to TOI.Tanvi said all her documents were in order but her file was still stalled. The official also called out Anas's name in front of everyone and insulted him, too. "He told Anas to convert to Hinduism for his passport to be renewed. This is a case of moral policing and religious prejudice. I was made to feel insulted; I broke down," said Tanvi in a tweet addressed to Swaraj.In a five-part tweet to the minister, and also in an email to her, Tanvi also said that she was also asked to "change her name as is the duty of all girls after marriage". In addition, her husband Anas was asked to "convert to Hinduism and take pheras" if he wanted his passport renewed, she alleged. "I tweet this with immense faith in justice and in you and ironically with a lot of anger/hurt and agony in my heart because of the way I was treated at the Lucknow passport office at Ratan Square by Mr Vikas Mishra the reason because I married a Muslim and not changed my name ever," said Tanvi in her tweet. "I never felt so insulted in the last 12 years of my marriage with my husband. It is my personal choice to choose a name I want to after marriage," said Tanvi.<doc-sep>The controversy over the issue of passports to an inter-faith couple in Uttar Pradesh took a surprise turn on Tuesday after the Luknow police’s verification report on the wife, Tanvi Seth, said she had not been staying at her Lucknow address for the past year. The adverse report could result in her passport being cancelled, legal experts said. Seth or her husband were not immediately available for comment. After Seth claimed she was harassed by a passport department official for being married to a Muslim, the external affairs ministry intervened, the officer was transferred, and she and her husband were issued passports (she was given a fresh one and her husband’s was renewed). While issuing these on June 21, the Regional Passport Office (RPO) requested the local police for routine verification. The verification in the matter was done by Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) and Qaiserbagh police. “In our verification it has been found that Tanvi Seth was not living at the Lucknow address which she has mentioned in the passport form. It was further known that she has been living in Noida. We have mentioned these findings in our report to the RPO,” said senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Lucknow Deepak Kumar. According to him, a person should be living for at least a year at the address furnished to get a passport. The findings may create problems for the couple. According to passport officials, the police report can lead to a passport revocation order. “Any anomaly mentioned in the adverse verification report can be used to invoke a revocation order,” said a senior passport official on condition of anonymity. “I have heard about the adverse verification report in the Tanvi Seth passport case. We will examine the report and take required action,” said Peeyush Verma, regional passport officer, Lucknow. “Furnishing false information in passport form to seek a passport is a grave offence under Passport Act. Now, when Lucknow police have submitted report to the passport office confirming that Tanvi had provided incorrect information, action must be taken against her,” said IB Singh, a senior lawyer working at the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court. The couple, Seth and her husband Anas Siddique, who appeared for a personal interview at passport seva kendra at Ratan Square on May 20, claimed to have been harassed by passport official Vikas Mishra. He verbally harassed Seth for marrying a Muslim man, she claimed. Mishra has consistently denied this and said he was just doing his job. Based on Seth’s complaints, Mishra was transferred.<doc-sep>A delegation of Shiv Sena led by Anil Singh met UP guv Ram Naik over passports issued to an inter-faith couple in… https://t.co/fcH6bHNvFY — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) 1529749268000 NEW DELHI. The Uttar Pradesh (UP) unit of the Shiv Sena on Friday accused the state government and centre of trying to appease Muslims after it issued passports to an interfaith couple in Lucknow, reported ANI.The party, in a press statement, questioned the promptness of ministry of external affairs to hand over the passport to Tanvi Sethi and her husband Anas while other Indians wait for months to get their passport.Defending the Lucknow passport officer Vikas Mishra, who was accused of harassing the couple, the Shiv Sena said that Mishra was actually doing his work diligently.A delegation of Shiv Sena led by Anil Singh met UP governor Ram Naik on Saturday and handed over a memorandum to him, seeking withdrawal on the transfer orders of the passport officer.“The government is trying to appease Muslims. It's a matter of national security,” said the delegation.Earlier, Shiv Sena had announced that it would honour Mishra, saying that he dared to question the veracity of documents shown by a woman who wanted to retain her Hindu name but used a Muslim name in 'nikahnama'.<doc-sep>The couple alleged that they were harassed during their interview by the passport officer. The inter-faith couple, who were allegedly harassed while renewing passport office last week, has run into trouble over police verification. The Lucknow police have said they have not been staying at the address they mentioned in the forms for at least a year. Tanvi Seth and Anas Siddiqui, have been living and working in Noida. But they had filed the application in Lucknow, their hometown. Rules demand that an applicant has to give the most recent address - and any previous ones in a span of a year before applying. Police sources said it is possible that they might be asked to file more documents, or even an application at the passport office in Noida. The local passport officials were not available for comment. Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar told reporters that according to rules, applicants should be residing at the address filled in the application for at least one year but Ms Seth had not followed the rules. "We have sent our report to the RPO (Regional Passport Office). She was not living in Lucknow for past one year. She was living in Noida and doing some work there... Now, the RPO will take the appropriate decision," the officer was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India. The couple, who needed to renew one passport and sought a new one, alleged last week that they were harassed and humiliated during their interview by the passport officer assigned their case. In a series of tweets to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Tanvi Seth, who works with a multinational company, had described how she was asked to change her name. She said she was "in tears" after the officer spoke to her "in a very humiliating manner". Her husband Anas Sidiqui said the officer had asked him to change his name and religion. After the ministry officials intervened the couple got their passport and the officer concerned was shunted out. Ms Swaraj, who was on a visit abroad at the time, got trolled for the ministry's prompt action. On her return, she took a swipe at the offenders with a tweet. "I was out of India from 17th to 23rd June 2018. I do not know what happened in my absence. However, I am honoured with some tweets. I am sharing them with you. So I have liked them," the minister tweeted.<doc-sep>
File picture | Photo Credit: ANI New Delhi: Days after a Hindu woman, married to a Muslim man, got her passport following a controversy, a report on Tuesday said her passport could be seized. Lucknow Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Deepak Kumar said they have found out that Tanvi Seth has not been staying at the current mentioned address for a year. Notably, as per the norms, an applicant shall mention the address at which he/she has been residing for the last six months while applying for a passport. Kumar said the Lucknow Police have sent their report to the Regional Passport Office. “In our investigation, we found out that Tanvi has not been staying at the current mentioned address for a year. We have sent our report to the Regional Passport Office. Further investigation will be done by them,” said Kumar. As per ABP News, reports hint at the possibility of confiscation of Tanvi's passport. The channel further reported that a lawsuit could be filed against Tanvi for providing false information to the passport office while filing the documents. The probe by the Lucknow Police said that the address which was provided by Tanvi was not the same as indicated by the mobile tower track. Earlier, Tanvi had alleged that she resided in Lucknow. However, later she told the officials at the passport office that she stayed and worked with her husband Mohammad Anas Siddiqui in Noida. In order to clear the picture, the Lucknow Police may seize the passport. Last week, the inter-faith couple had hogged the limelight after Tanvi tweeted to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, alleging that passport officer Vikas Mishra dismissed her application on the basis that she had not changed her surname after her marriage to a Muslim man. Paying heed to her complaint, passport officer Mishra was transferred to Gorakhpur. Mishra, however, had claimed that he had just apprised Sethi of the rules applicable in such cases. In his own defence, Mishra had said that he was only taking necessary precautionary measures to ensure that there was no forgery involved. "I asked Tanvi Seth to get the name 'Shadia Anas' endorsed as it was mentioned on her Nikahnama (marriage contract), but she refused. We have to do thorough checks to ensure no person is changing their name to obtain a passport," he had told ANI.