Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has written to his West Bengal counterpart Suvendhu Adhikari seeking urgent intervention in the passport renewal issue of former The Telegraph editor R Rajagopal, whose application has been delayed following an adverse police verification report linked to the deletion of his name from the electoral roll under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

In his letter, Satheesan said he was drawing the attention of the West Bengal Chief Minister to Rajagopal’s case, in which the passport renewal application was held up after Kolkata Police submitted an adverse verification report. He noted that the report, according to information available to him, was based on the deletion of Rajagopal’s name from the electoral roll.

The Chief Minister said while the electoral issue was already being addressed through the appropriate appellate process, the adverse police report had the effect of delaying the passport renewal. He urged the West Bengal government to look into the matter with urgency.

Describing Rajagopal as a renowned journalist based in Kolkata for the past three decades, he said Rajagopal had a distinguished career in journalism spanning over three decades. He also referred to Rajagopal’s family background, stating that he was the son of Professor V Ramadas, former state secretary of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi in Kerala, who was widely respected for his public service.

“In these circumstances, I would like to request your good self to kindly look into the matter with urgency,” the Chief Minister wrote in his letter.

Meanwhile, Rajagopal has alleged that his passport renewal has been stalled due to the deletion of his name from West Bengal’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Speaking to the media, he said he was informed on March 27 that his name had been removed from the electoral roll. He had applied for passport renewal on February 27, and his biometric verification was completed on March 19.

The following day, his application was sent for police verification, and he was later asked to appear at the police station instead of officials visiting his residence, as is usually the practice.

According to him, police first sought his voter ID card to generate a one-time password (OTP). When he informed them that it had been deactivated, he was asked to submit several documents, including his matriculation certificate, PAN card, Aadhaar card, his father’s death certificate and property documents.

Rajagopal said he received no further communication until May 20, when a Kolkata Police security control officer informed him that the verification process had been affected due to the deletion of his name from the electoral roll under the SIR.

He added that he was issued a slip confirming his exclusion from the voter list and had already challenged the deletion before a court.

According to him, passport verification was formally denied in writing on June 17 on the grounds that his name no longer appeared in the electoral roll. He later secured an appointment at the passport office for July 17, but said no fresh documents were sought.