Kozhikode: Passport Officer saves the day for budding cricketer

Kozhikode: An upcoming cricket star can travel to Sri Lanka and play for the Nagpur Cricket Academy thanks to the intervention of Kozhikode passport officer K.P. Madhusoodanan.  The police had almost killed the chances of Hasan, 17, to fly to Sri Lanka by delaying the verification of his passport, but the officer  helped the youth to collect the passport directly from the office on Wednesday.

 

Hasan, who hails from a poor family from Payyannur,  Kannur, was supposed to travel to Sri Lanka from Kochi on Thursday, but did not receive the passport till the last minute.  Hasan, an all-rounder, had got selection at Nagpur Cricket Academy and was to play at Nuwara Eliya District Cricket Association in Sri Lanka.

 

Mr Madhusoodanan used his discretionary powers and handed over the passport at Kozhikode office after a teary eyed Hasan and his uncle Abdul Kalam had walked into his chamber to explain their plight.

Hasan had applied for his passport on May 5 and the Special Branch police had made the verification on May 13. However, they did not send the verification report to Kozhikode passport office on time. The passport office got the report only on Wednesday.

 

“Only on Wednesday afternoon, we were told that our police verification had  been updated on their system. But by then it was too late. We pleaded before the passport officer and he was kind enough to take a special effort to grant us the passport,” Hasan said.

 

In the normal course, the passport was  to be sent  by speed post on Thursday morning. “But his flight is on the same day from Kochi. So I used my special powers to help this boy, who might have a bright future in the sport,” Mr Madhusoodanan said.