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

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.

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.