PATNA: Believe it or not, a residence (domicile) certificate—one of the 11 documents required in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar—was recently issued to a canine in rural Patna.
Screenshots of the certificate, carrying the photograph of a golden retriever listed as ‘Dog Babu,’ have gone viral on the Internet, leaving social media users in splits. The document lists his parents as ‘Kutta Babu’ and ‘Kutiya Devi’ and his address as Mohalla Kaulichak, Ward No. 15, in Nagar Parishad Masaurhi, which falls under the Patna district.
The certificate was reportedly issued last week in the Masaurhi circle, falling under the eponymous subdivision, apparently as part of a scramble for such documents during the SIR exercise. The move has prompted a red-faced administration to lodge an FIR against the applicant, the computer operator and the officer who issued the certificate.
Notably, the certificate bears the digital signature of Masaurhi revenue officer Murari Chauhan. Since digitally signing a document requires the use of a secure government-issued dongle, officials suspect a possible breach or misuse of credentials.
During the investigation, it was found that the certificate was linked to documents originally belonging to a woman from Delhi. Her Aadhaar card, among other documents, was uploaded to the portal, hinting at the possibility of data tampering to generate the fake certificate.
Patna District Magistrate Thiyagarajan SM has described the matter as “very serious”. The certificate issued on July 24 at 3.56 pm was cancelled as soon as it came to the notice of the district authorities. Further, a recommendation to suspend the officer concerned has been sent to the Revenue and Land Reforms Department.