Pune: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Pune has conducted a special training session for city police personnel to streamline passport verification and reduce delays in processing applications.The session, held at the office of Commissioner of Police, focused on familiarising personnel with the upgraded Passport Seva Programme (PSP) 2.0 system and standardising verification procedures.
Officials said the initiative aimed at strengthening coordination between the passport office and the police department, which plays a key role in address and background verification of applicants.Deputy passport officer Shruti Pandey presented a detailed demonstration on the new digital features of PSP 2.0, highlighting how the upgraded system enables faster processing, improved data accuracy and better monitoring of verification timelines. The training also addressed common documentation issues, discrepancies and operational challenges faced by police during field verification.Regional passport officer Vinod Gaikwad said timely and accurate police verification remains a critical pillar of passport issuance and is essential for both national security and citizen convenience. The session included an interactive question-and-answer segment where police officers raised queries related to procedures and documentation requirements.Gaikwad also said police have been instructed to conduct fresh and more rigorous verification in cases where an applicant’s address is found to be doubtful. He added that addresses that had earlier received police remarks that the applicant was ‘not residing at the given location’ will now mandatorily undergo re-verification, with special emphasis on criminal background checks.The fresh verification directive comes amid recent public attention on the passport verification process following the escape of Pune-based criminal Nilesh Ghaywal.
