Days after an inter-faith couple complained about harassment at a Passport Seva Kendra in Lucknow, an internal government probe has revealed that the passport officer was wrong in asking the Hindu-Muslim couple unnecessary questions regarding their religion. The probe also questioned the Uttar Pradesh Police for nit-picking irrelevant details while carrying out verification process.

Twitter trolls have been targeting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj after Lucknow passport official Vikas Mishra was transferred by the Ministry of External Affairs for allegedly harassing the Hindu woman Tanvi Seth and her Muslim husband Mohammad Anas Siddiqui. News agency PTI has mentioned sources as saying that Mishra had exceeded his brief when the couple visited the regional passport office with their applications.

Not just the passport official, the MEA found out that the Uttar Pradesh Police too transcended their territory to dig out inapt details about the couple. As per the procedure, police’s task is to only verify whether an applicant is a bona fide Indian citizen or not and if he/she had any role to play in any criminal activity.

Lucknow passport official Vikas Mishra was transferred to Gorakhpur after Tanvi Seth and Mohammad Anas Siddiqui alleged that they were humiliated by him when they visited the office. Sethi had claimed that the officer misbehaved with the couple.

She further said that her passport application was rejected as she had not changed her surname after marrying a Muslim man. However, the officer had denied the charges, saying he had just apprised Sethi of the rules applied in such cases.

PTI had reported on 21 June that Mishra had said in his defence that his secular credentials were undisputed and that he had merely showed Seth that her 'nikahnama' showed her name as Shazia Anas, which required an endorsement on her file. 

"For this she refused. If she had consented... we would have sent it to the 'A' section for data modification. We have to see which person is taking the passport in what name... There is documentary proof, how can we ignore that. I am secular and I have myself had an inter-caste marriage," Mishra reportedly told PTI.

But the matter had escalated after Seth tweeted her problems to the External Affairs Minister on the next day of her said ordeal.