Dog’s Residence Certificate Sparks Investigation into Bihar Electoral Roll Integrity

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar is under scrutiny following the issuance of a residence certificate to a dog. The certificate, issued via the RTPS portal, listed the dog’s parents as ‘Kutta Babu’ and ‘Kutiya Devi.’ The document, complete with the dog’s photo, was issued in Masaurhi, Patna. The presence of a Revenue Officer’s digital signature on the certificate, requiring a secure government-issued dongle, has triggered an investigation into possible misuse of credentials or system breaches. The authorities are now examining how the supporting documents, purportedly belonging to a woman in Delhi, were used. This incident highlights potential vulnerabilities in the online system designed to verify documents like Aadhaar and voter IDs. Political activist Yogendra Yadav also commented on the issue on X (formerly Twitter), questioning the authenticity of the certificates being issued under the SIR program.