Dog Babu” Residency Certificate Issued — And Cancelled — in Patna, Bihar

1. What happened?
On July 24, 2025, Bihar’s RTPS (Right to Public Services) portal issued a residence certificate in the name of a dog named “Dog Babu”, listing fictional parental names: Kutta Babu (father) and Kutiya Devi (mother), with a photo of a golden retriever. It even carried a valid digital signature by revenue officer Murari Chauhan and a QR code.

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Within two minutes, the certificate was cancelled (issued at 3:56 pm, revoked at 3:58 pm) after local administration recognized the absurdity of the situation.

2. How did this happen?
Investigations revealed that the underlying documents belonged to a woman from Delhi—her Aadhaar and identity proofs were used, apparently via tampering or system misuse at a cyber cafe.

Officials concluded that the RTPS centre manager and revenue staff failed to verify the photograph and address, despite the application clearly containing a photo of a dog.

3. Administrative Response

• Patna District Magistrate Thiyagarajan SM called the episode “very serious” and attributed it to “mischievous elements.”

• A police FIR has been filed against the applicant, the RTPS computer operator, and the issuing officer. All are now suspended pending investigation.

• Cyber cell teams and local officials have been tasked with tracing the source of the fraudulent application and securing disciplinary action within 24 hours.

4. Public and Political Reaction

• The incident has gone viral on social media—users expressed amusement and disbelief at a dog officially certified as a resident.

• Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav sharply criticized the state’s electoral exercise, noting: “This is the same certificate accepted under Bihar’s SIR, while Aadhaar and ration cards are dismissed as fake”.

• Critics have flagged this as a weakening of bureaucratic integrity during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls ahead of Bihar elections.