SALEM: Was it a goof up, a prank or plain foul play? Officials were perplexed over how the photo of actor Kajal Aggarwal was printed on the smart family card of Saroja Periyathambi from RC Chettipatti. An inquiry seemed to have only increased the mystery, with officials concluding that the changes were made on a mobile app by an unknown person.
On Tuesday, the salesperson at a ration shop in RC Chettipatti distributed a bunch of cards. Saroja Periyathambi got hers printed with the photo of Kajal Aggarwal. The saleswoman realised the error and went to Saroja’s house on Tuesday and asked for her original photo to reprint the smart card. Confused and apprehensive, Saroja’s family refused to give the saleswoman another picture and opted to make the correction on the card themselves.
The unsuspecting saleswomen was then shocked to see the news breaking on regional news channel. In no time, the error on smart card found its way into the social media. Quickly launching into damage control measures, the Taluk Supply Office in Omalur convinced Saroja and processed a new card and the card was handed over to her on Wednesday.
Officials found that the last correction to the family card details in the district-level database was made in the last week of May and Saroja’s card carried her correct picture. They ruled out possibility of update error on Taluk Supplies Office system.
Arul Prakash, the Taluk Supplies Officer, Omalur, said that a new system allowed card holders to access the Supplies Department’s website, generate an OTP by entering the mobile number and make corrections. But chance of that happening in this case was remote.
In yet another development, an app was made available through which changes can be made in the family card database. Technical experts in the Department in Chennai ruled out the possibility of identifying the person involved unless the mobile number, on which the app was downloaded, was known.