Bihar has found itself embroiled in another bizarre case — this time involving a certificate application submitted in the name of a cat.
The applicant, registered as ‘Cat Kumar’, listed ‘Catty Boss’ as the father and ‘Catiya Devi’ as the mother, leaving officials baffled.
The application was filed for the purpose of obtaining a residential certificate.
Acting on instructions from Rohtas District Magistrate Udita Singh, Nasriganj Revenue Officer Kaushal Patel lodged a case against unidentified individuals at Nasriganj police station.
A formal investigation is now underway to trace the source of the false application.
In his letter to the police, the revenue officer wrote, “This act of the applicant has obstructed official work. It appears to be a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the government and public services. The online service system has been misused and distorted by the applicant providing a fake name, address, and photo.”
Part of a growing pattern
The incident comes during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar — a period in which residential certificates are crucial for voter card verification.
Authorities have recently detected several prank and fraudulent applications, raising questions over the integrity of the process.
Last month, Opposition parties attacked the BJP-led NDA government and the Election Commission after revelations that a residential certificate had been issued to a dog in Patna district’s Masaurhi block.
That document — complete with a dog’s photo — bore the name ‘Dog Babu’, with ‘Kutta Babu’ and ‘Kutiya Devi’ listed as the parents, and was signed by Revenue Officer Murari Chauhan.
Even Donald Trump makes an appearance
Last week, authorities in Samastipur flagged a residence certificate application filed under the name of US President Donald Trump, complete with a forged Aadhaar number and his photograph.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on August 6 highlighted a growing list of absurd fake residence certificate cases in Bihar, reiterating the Opposition’s charge that the SIR was “nothing but an exercise in mass disenfranchisement.”
"Bihar’s SIR has President Trump from Samastipur & Ram S/O Dashrath & Kaushalya from Khagaria. Only Lord Ram can save us from @ECISVEEP madness!"
In a video message on X, Moitra elaborated: “We have in the district of Samastipur an online application in the name of Donald Trump. The request was made on the 29th of July through the government portal from Mohiuddinnagar block, and it's using a photo of Donald Trump and listing a local address in Hasanpur village in Mohiuddinnagar.”
She added: “The second is in Khagaria district where officials have found resident certificate applications in the name of Lord Ram, Goddess Sita and even a crow. These forms include mythical or animal photos and made-up names and addresses.”
Moitra pointed out: “The Lord Ram application lists Raja Dashrath and Ma Kaushalya as the parents. The village is Ayodhya, but it's in Khagaria district, not in Uttar Pradesh. So this is the state of the SIR application. These are just two or three instances... The circus continues. Thank you.”