PATNA, Jan. 15 -- Kaimur district has emerged as Bihar's top performer in expeditious police verification for passport issuance, completing the process in an average of just four days, Patna's regional passport officer (RPO) Swadha Rizvi said on Wednesday. Khagaria, Sheohar and Begusarai followed, with average verification times of five, six and seven days, respectively. "The achievement comes as the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Patna, had set a target of completing police verification reports within 10 days in 2026 - a benchmark the Bihar Police has surpassed well ahead of schedule," said Rizvi. She said that in December 2025, the statewide average time for completing and forwarding police verification reports stood at nine days, with 95 per cent of reports submitted within 15 days. Police verification is a mandatory and critical step in the passport issuance process, and passports are issued only after the report is received. From Bihar's perspective, officials termed the sharp reduction in turnaround time a significant milestone, noting that verification earlier often took several months. The improvement has largely been attributed to the rollout of the mPassport Police App by the ministry of external affairs (MEA), which has streamlined verification and reporting, enabling faster passport issuance for applicants. Rizvi credited the achievement to the coordinated efforts of the Special Branch and district police force....