The Cop With The Vision

Currently holding the post of the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Mumbai and posted at Santa Cruz police station, Mr Dattatray P. Bhargude, who was born and brought up at Palshi, a village in Maharashtra, is an icon on his own merit who has a lot of vision. Mr Bhargude, who has 31 years of service, holds the distinction of having streamlined the passport woes of the common man .Four years ago, when he was posted as the Head in the passport section in Mumbai which was a special branch to CID under the Mumbai police as well as the central government, he was told that he was responsible for processing all the applications for issue of passports.

“When I came to know that I had to scrutinize all the applications for passport and verify in respect of the place of residence, nationality, date of birth and educational qualification of the applicants and submit them to the CID as well as the Regional Passport Office at Worli, I realized that it was a very cumbersome procedure and had talks with Ms Aswati Dorje, the then Dy Commissioner of Police of Passport branch as well as Mr Rakesh Maria, the Commissioner of Police then in Mumbai, the latter suggested that I find out ways to streamline the procedure and help issue the passports in just a week after studying why there was a delay of almost three months to issue the passport so that it will help the common people specially the students”

Mr Bhargude realized that the actual work of issuing the passport was only done by the local police and told the commissioner of Police, Mumbai Mr Rakesh Maria that the passports could be issued in just seven days for every applicant. “Mr Rakesh Maria deputed Mr Milind Bharambe, Addl Commissioner of Police, West Region to go find out the procedural delays after verifying what I said , though there were several people who wanted the status quo to continue. It was cross checked by the Addl Commissioner of Police, Crime Shri Prasanna too. Thankfully from December 2013, the work was streamlined. In spite of the fact that Tata Consultancy Services had started from June 2012, the task of accepting the applicants for passport, there was this glaring delay of three months for the applicants to be issued the passports but now besides Mumbai, the procedure has been simplified in Thane City, Rural areas too”.

Though Mr Dattatray P. Bhargude has since then been posted back to the mainstream division, today the applicants can get their passports within seven days of them applying for them, thanks to his foresight and unique vision.

By Jyothi Venkatesh