JALANDHAR: Taking a major initiative to provide remedy to crucial issue of deserted brides, Regional Passport Office, Jalandhar, has set up a mechanism for registering complaints and then using provisions of Passport Act, 1967 to nail the accused.
The passports of the accused can be impounded or even if they do fly abroad whenever they apply for any service related to their passport they would be traced and then extradition procedure can be initiated, said regional passport officer Perneet Singh.
He said a Women Grievances Section had been established in the RPO, which would take complaints from the deserted brides along with the specified documents and then proceedings would be initiated under Section 10 (3) of Passport Act, 1967 after issuing show-cause notice to the offender for impounding the passport.
He said this system would work within the country and would be effective outside the country also to nail such unscrupulous elements. He said once the RPO would initiate impounding process the accused would lose his passport at the airport.
"Even if he was able to fly abroad before initiation of such proceedings, he could be nailed with the help of Indian embassies abroad," he added.
Perneet Singh said he was also taking up the mater with the Punjab government to make the system more effective. He held that if details like passport copy of groom, his social security number, permanent address in foreign country and contact number are taken while registering the marriage, this would be of great help to track the cheater grooms.
He revealed that RPO would write to the groom to get the name of the spouse registered in his passport, which would take just a single day if all papers are complete, and if he doesn't respond, then also action for impounding the passport would be initiated.Complainants can reach out to the RPO through a helpline number 0-84274-71823 or on rpo.jalandhar@mea.gov.in through mail.
15,000 women belong to Doaba region alone
RPO Perneet Singh said according to figures provided by National Commission for Women and ministry of women and child development there were total around 30,000 such deserted brides in the country and 15,000 of these were only from four districts of Doaba region. It has remained a big issue for the last several years.
