‘Dog Babu’ issued residence certificate in Bihar’s SIR process, DM orders probe

The area Sub-Divisonal Magistrate submitted a report stating that the application for the ‘residential certificate was submitted with Aadhar card of a Delhi-based woman’; Patna District Magistrate says the certificate has been cancelled forthwith and assured the public that action will be taken against all guilty officials and employees

Amid the confusion among people over the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls in Bihar that got over on July 25, a canine named ‘Dog Babu’ was issued a residence certificate in Masaurhi area of Patna district from the State RTPS (Right to Public Service) portal.

The residence certificate was required by the Election Commission (EC) among 11 certificates as proof for inclusion in the electoral rolls during SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. State assembly polls in Bihar are due in October-November later this year.

Later, Patna District Magistrate Thiyagarajan S.M. said the certificate has been cancelled and ordered a probe into it with a report sought within 24 hours. Assuring this, he said action will be taken against the employees and officials found guilty. “The matter is very serious and some mischievous elements have made such an attempt. The certificate was issued on July 24 at 3.56 p.m. and it was immediately cancelled within two minutes at 3:58 pm,” the DM said while speaking to the media on Monday.

The Masaurhi Sub-Divisional Magistrate has submitted his report in which it was found that the application for the “residential certificate was submitted with Aadhar card of a Delhi-based woman and action will be taken against all guilty officials and employees”.

Golden retriever

The residence certificate (No: BRCCO / 2025/ 15933581) issued in the name of “Dog Babu” has the photograph of a golden retriever, his father’s name is mentioned as “Kuta babu” and mother’s name as “Kutiya Devi” and he is listed as a permanent resident of “Mohalla: Kaulichak, Ward No: 15, Post Office: Masaurhi, Pin Code: 804452, Police Station: Masaurhi, Block: Masaurhi, Division: Masaurhi, District: Patna, State: Bihar”. The certificate was issued on July 24, a day before the SIR exercise of electoral rolls was over.

The certificate was issued from the State RTPS (Right to Public Service) portal, which is an online platform established by the Bihar government to provide various public services to its citizens. It is part of the e-District mission mode project under the National e-Governance Plan. The portal enables citizens to apply for and access essential services like caste, income and residence certificates online, streamlining the process and ensuring timely delivery.

The issued certificate bears digital signature of Revenue Officer Murari Chauhan. When the residence certificate issued in the name of “Dog Babu” went viral on social media on Monday with several cryptic comments following it, the Patna district administration in a social media post said that an FIR has been registered against the applicant, the computer operator and the officer who issued the certificate.

Earlier, social activist and Swaraj India member Yogendra Yadav took a dig at the residence certificate issued in the name of a dog in Patna in a social media post in which he said: “Look at this through your own eyes that a dog gets his residential certificate done in Bihar on July 24^th and this is the same certificate considered by Election Commission for SIR of electoral rolls in the state while Aadhar and Ration cards are being called fake”.