The Special Branch (SB) of police have decided not to give police clearance certificates – a prerequisite for Saudi Arabian visas – to 600 “unfit” applicants who planned on performing Hajj this year.
Most of the applicants identified as “unfit” allegedly had criminal cases filed against them with different police stations. Police officials expressed concerns that some of those applicants might not return to Bangladesh if they were allowed to go to Saudi Arabia in the name of performing Hajj.
Mizanur Rahman, director of Hajj office at Ashkona, said the SB police had identified 581 applicants as ineligible for clearance certificates. When asked for the reason, he said the police only provided a list of unfit applicants without explaining to the Hajj office why they were declined clearances.
“The applicants who were denied clearance could now submit applications to SB to find out reasons behind such decision.”
Meanwhile, police have also reportedly identified around 900 other applications to have faulty or misleading information. While verifying all submitted applications, the police found mistakes in names, addresses and other information provided by those applicants.
Hajj office Director Mizanur said those who made mistakes in their documents could be eligible for a visa only if they could get clearances by requesting the SB authorities to recheck their applications.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs sent a total of 37,000 applications from Hajj aspirants to the police for verification this year.