Bihar govt issues residence certificate to 'Dog Babu', son of 'Kutta Babu', cancels it later

The certificate carried the photo of a dog named ‘Dog Babu’.

Officials in Patna were left dumbfounded after finding a residence certificate issued in the name of a dog. The certificate, legitimate in appearance and bearing all the hallmarks of authenticity, including a digital signature from a government officer, was processed through Bihar’s Right to Public Service (RTPS) portal under the jurisdiction of the Masaurhi Zone Office, ETV Bharat reported.

The certificate, numbered BRCCO/2025/15933581, carried the photo of a dog named ‘Dog Babu’ and cited his official address as Mohalla Kaulichak, Ward No. 15, under the Nagar Parishad Masaurhi. The father’s name has been mentioned as ‘Kutta Babu’ while the mother’s name is ‘Kutiya Devi’. What made the case particularly alarming was that the application had successfully cleared the standard verification process and was digitally signed by Murari Chauhan, the designated revenue officer of the zone.

अपनी आँखों से देख लीजिए!
बिहार में 24 जुलाई को एक कुत्ते ने आवास प्रमाण पत्र बनवा लिया। यह वही प्रमाणपत्र है जिसे बिहार में SIR में मान्य किया जा रहा है, जबकि आधार और राशन कार्ड को फ़र्ज़ी बताया जा रहा है।
आप ख़ुद फ़ोटो और नाम जाँच लीजिए:
‘डॉग बाबू', पिता का नाम 'कुत्ता बाबू',… pic.twitter.com/ZBOvrgqIyq

— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) July 27, 2025

According to the officials, such a digital signature cannot be generated without access to a specific security device known as a dongle, which further raises serious questions about the misuse or possible breach of this secure tool.

Officials said it seems that the certificate was issued as per the usual process following verification, as it has the revenue officer's digital signature, which can't be done without his dongle. The question that arises is who used the dongle and how, they added.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar | On a residence certificate issued for a dog, Patna DM Thiyagarajan says, "The matter is very serious. Some mysterious element has made such an attempt. The certificate was issued on July 24 at 3.56 pm and was immediately cancelled within two minutes at… pic.twitter.com/VrroE8NmgJ

— ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2025

As per ETV Bharat, the officials found that the documents uploaded alongside the request, intended to verify identity and residence, actually belonged to a woman living in Delhi. Her Aadhaar card and her husband’s identity proofs were used as part of the fraudulent submission.

Prabhat Ranjan, Circle Officer, Nagar Parishad Masaurhi said that an FIR will be lodged in this connection and action will be taken against whoever is involved. "This is not a joke but a serious case of tampering with the government's system and documents. It will be probed as to how the dongle of the revenue officer was misused. An investigation has already been ordered, and further action will be taken against those involved," Ranjan was quoted by ETV Bharat as saying.