Lucknow Passport Seva Kendra Officer Vikas Mishra Denies Misbehaviour With Muslim-Hindu Married Couple

Post the outrage over Passport officer Vikas Mishra misbehaving and moral policing an interfaith couple, here comes another twist to the story. The officer in question has been transferred, and a showcase notice has been issued to him. The couple was called to finish their formalities, and they were issued their passports. Sushma Swaraj, to whom the alleged victim Tanvi Seth had tagged on Twitter has also asked for details about the case from Lucknow Passport Seva Kendra.

The accused officer has however defended his action saying, "Asked Tanvi Seth to get the name 'Shadia Anas' endorsed as it was mentioned on her Nikahnama, but she refused. We have to do thorough checks to ensure no person is changing their name to obtain passports.”

Earlier in the day, at a press conference, Regional Passport Officer, Lucknow said that couple's passport has been issued and a show cause notice has been sent to the official who is at fault. "Action will also be taken. We regret the incident and will ensure that it is not repeated.".

On Wednesday, the passport officer had refused to grant Tanvi a passport because she was married to a Muslim and had not changed her surname. Her husband passport was not renewed either, and it was kept on hold. The officer in question told her husband Anas to convert to Hinduism and 'take pheras' for his passport to be renewed.

Vikas Mishra has however denied saying any such things to Anas and said that he acted completely as per the rules and referred the matter to the seniors. He has accused the couple of lying, and since they were in Lucknow for just a day, they got agitated, when things didn't work as per they had planned.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2018 05:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).