NRI men abandoning wives on rise

Hyderabad: As many as 78 cases have been registered so far this year against NRI husbands for abandoning their wives. For the whole of last year the number of such cases stood at 118. The ministry of external affairs has been acting tough in such cases and has cancelled passports of the erring husbands.

Regional Passport officer Dr Vishnu Vardhan Reddy said, “South India has reported fewer number of cases compared to the north. Punjab has registered 700-plus cases of honeymoon marriages. The ministry has directed the regional passport offices to issue showcause notices to the accused when such complaints are received from the police or when the courts issue non-bailable warrants or look-out circulars. The passport is suspended immediately once the notice is issued.”

The MEA has set up a special cell to coordinate with the ministry of women and child welfare and other authorities in addressing cases of women abandoned by NRI husbands.

Besides this, the cases of illegal migrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal who have settled in the city and applying for passports by producing Aadhaar cards, birth certificates and school certificates is on the rise. In the last two years, 93 such passports have been revoked, Mr Reddy said.