Chandigarh, May 31 (DHNS): A small albeit significant step - a round-the-clock helpline exclusively dedicated to deserted brides - to be launched by the Punjab police on Thursday, exposes the dismaying rot behind the glitz of dollar dreams and offshore marriages.

Help for deserted brides will now be just a call away. The cleansing is under way.
Almost a year into stemming the rot, the Passport Office in Jalandhar till date has seized passports of at least 94 NRIs who deserted their Indian brides, forcing them into an agonizing, doleful existence. The deterrent of a passport being impounded has now forced many NRIs into reconciliatory bids. In some cases NRIs are resorting to a one-time settlement mode to wean away the looming threat of jail.

The sheer number of such cases in Punjab is alarming. According to the National Commission for Women and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, of the 30,000 women deserted by NRI husbands, 15,000 are from Punjab’s Doaba region alone. Sources said, since September 2009, the NRI Cell opened at the National Commission for Women had received 532 complaints of deserted and harassed wives of NRIs.  The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) informed the Lok Sabha this month that it  received 381 complaints of women deserted by their NRI husbands, most of them from Punjab.

Behind much of the cleansing being done in Punjab to help deserted NRI brides, the efforts of the Jalandhar Passport Officer Parneet Singh have earned applause. Last week, Singh featured in actor Aamir Khan-produced and anchored TV show “Satyamev Jayate” for his initiative to impound passports of NRIs resorting to duping their wives.

A 105-member strong team works relentlessly for the cause. “Its working out as a serious deterrent. Reconciliation and settlement of many cases is underway,” Singh said. Hundreds of NRIs have been issued show cause notices, before the office gears up to impound their passports. Section 10 (3) of the Passport Act states that the regional passport officer or the issuing authority can suspend or impound the passports of such offenders in public interest after issuing a show cause notice.

Once the passport is impounded, travel ends. In case the NRI is in India, it would not be possible for him to go back unless he settles his marital discord legally or mutually.
Many NRIs, who have been issued show cause notices by the passport office, have even been declared proclaimed offenders. (Helpline number 0181-2221645).

In a bid to rein in NRI grooms deserting wives, Punjab’s deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday said the registration of marriages with NRIs will be made mandatory in the state.