Sons of missing passenger run from pillar to post for passports

The two sons of one of the missing passengers of flight MH370, had a harrowing time when they went to get their passports renewed.

The two sons of Kranti Shirsath, one of the missing passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, had a harrowing time when they went to get their passports renewed at the Regional Passport Office (RPO). Apparently, they were made to run from pillar to post and given the renewed passports after eight hours.

“I had my practical exam on Tuesday morning. When it was over, my younger brother Yashwant, two of my uncles and I went to the passport office on Senapati Bapat Road. We had written an application explaining our situation, requesting them to issue passports to me and my brother. But none of the officers were ready to talk to us. They asked us to wait in the line. We did as they said. Then one of the officers asked my uncle to take us to the passport office in Mundhwa,” said 16-year-old Rahul Shirsath.

Then they went to the Mundhwa Passport Seva Kendra, 20 km from the RPO office. “We had a horrible experience there. The woman passport officer asked us to get out of the office twice. We stood in line for almost two hours. Finally, she asked us to come on Wednesday despite our telling her that it is a special case. Then we left for our house, which is on the other end of the city. Some time later, we got a call from an RPO official, who asked us to come back. We immediately went back.

Once we reached there, within half an hour, the boys got their passports. This time, the passport officers were cordial with us,” said Sateesh Shirsath, brother of the boys’ father Pralhad.
“I think the change in behaviour was due to pressure from higher authorities. I talked to Pralhad in Malaysia about the problems we were facing. He said he will get in touch with the Indian Embassy in Malaysia and they will help us. Then I also called up the District Collector, who asked me to get in touch with the Resident Deputy Collector (RDC), whom I was not able to contact. He must have contacted the RDC, who in turn would have told the passport office to speed up the procedure. If the entire procedure could be completed in 30 minutes, why did they make us wait the entire day?” said Sateesh.

District Collector Saurabh Rao said he will enquire about the delay in renewing the passports. “In this case, there shouldn’t have been any delay. If there was a delay, it is a serious lapse. I will enquire into the matter and take appropriate action.”

He added, “I did receive a call from the family members and directed the RDC to take up the matter with the regional passport officer.”

Muktesh K Pardeshi, Joint Secretary (PSP) and Chief Passport Officer, Ministry of External Affairs, said: “As per my knowledge, the family members were asked to come to the RPO between 2 pm and 4pm. But they were not there at the prescribed time. When they arrived, they said they didn’t want to wait and will come tomorrow and left. We called them back to our office. Within an hour, the boys were given their passports.” However Rahul and Sateesh refuted Pardeshi’s claim.

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Meanwhile, Pralhad will be flying down to Pune on Wednesday. “Till now, there is no information about the missing plane. Hence, Pralhad has decided to fly back home to be with his sons. He will board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai on Wednesday morning. From there he will come to Pune,” said Sateesh.

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