While police verification is an integral part of the passport process, some police stations in the city are consistently failing to adhere to the 15-day verification timeline. Passport verifications in some cases have been pending at Beltarodi, Jaripatka, and Nandanvan Police Stations for the past six months. According to data received from the city police, a total of 2,276 passport verifications were pending with the city police as of last week. At Beltarodi, Jaripatka, and Nandanvan police stations, passport verifications for 5, 14, and 6 persons, respectively, have been pending since July 2024.

 

As per the final tally, the following police stations have pending passport verifications: 89 at Ajni, 13 at Ambazari, 40 at Bajaj Nagar, 70 at Belatarodi, 25 at Dhantoli, 47 at Ganeshpeth, 101 at Gittikhana, 3 at Hingna, 150 at Hudkeshwar, 39 at Imambada, and the highest number, 455, at Jaripatka. Other stations with pending verifications include 25 at Kalamna, 56 at Kapil Nagar, 6 at Koradi, 68 at Kotwali, 24 at Lakadganj, 46 at Mankapur, 50 at MIDC, 271 at Nandanvan, 16 at New Kamptee, 21 at Old Kamptee, 287 at Pachpaoli, 63 at Pratap Nagar, 64 at Sadar, 18 at Sakkardara, 8 at Shanti Nagar, 6 at Sitabuldi, 4 at Sonegaon, 139 at Tehsil, 33 at Wadi, 27 at Wathoda, and 10 at Yashodhara Nagar. The Pardi police station has recorded zero pendency.

 

 

A police official explained that when a person applies for a passport, the police verification request is processed and sent to the Special Branch (SB) office of the city police, which then forwards it to the police station. After verification, the file is sent back to the SB office and subsequently forwarded to the passport office. The official also mentioned that there are multiple reasons for the delay. One of the main issues is the new version 2.0 of the passport system, which locks the password for 15 days if an incorrect password is entered. At some police stations, like Jaripatka, where the pendency is the highest (455), officials often ask for additional documents, as many residents of the area have settled from Pakistan or neighbouring countries. This leads to delays in the passport verification process and often getting stuck in the documentation phase, claimed the official.

 

 

 Sources have informed that while over 2,000 verifications are pending at police stations, approximately 3,000 verifications are pending at the SB office. Due to such a massive backlog, citizens are struggling to understand the reason behind the failure of the system.