Bhatkal: Woman's Passport Seized at Calicut for saying it was 'Indian'!

Bhatkal, Apr 9: A case of high-handed and arbitrary attitude of the officials at the Calicut (Kozhikode) airport in Kerala in seizing the passport of a woman passenger from Bhatkal for no valid reason has angered many residents here.

Nishat Khaleel from Bhatkal was on her way to Muscat, Sultanate of Oman to visit her husband and daughter and was to fly from Kozhikode on Thursday.

She had earlier travelled with her son Naufal from Bhatkal to Calicut by train and arrived at the airport there to board the plane. Looking at her passport, the officials reportedly said, in a tone of resentment, that it was Karnataka's passport.

It is a well-known fact that only three kinds of passport exist in India, one as Republic of India, second as diplomatic and third - official passport.

Her son Naufal, speaking on her behalf said that there was no such thing like Karnataka's passport, and it was a passport of India. He asked them whether there was no value for a passport issued by the government of India.

Obviously, with a hurt ego and to protect themselves from any trouble in future, the officials threatened to seize the passport and for its return imposed a condition that the passenger should give in writing that the officials had done nothing wrong.

Naufal refused to do so and said that it was the officials themselves who were in the wrong and it was they who should admit their fault in writing.

The officials solemnly informed them that they had seized the passport. Totally annoyedand disgusted with their attitude, the mother and son duo left the passport behind with the officials, came out of the airport and decided to take further action through other channels.