Bihar: ‘Cat Kumar’ applies for residential certificate in Rohtas; FIR registered

The person has sent an application under the name ‘Cat Kumar’, with ‘Catty Boss’ mentioned as the father and ‘Catiya Devi’ as the mother.

After ‘Dog Babu’, ‘Sonalika Tractor’ and ‘Donald Trump’, yet another case of fake application has come to the fore in Bihar after the Rohtas district administration received a residential certificate request in the name of a cat.

For representational purposes only. (AP)

The person has sent an application under the name ‘Cat Kumar’, with ‘Catty Boss’ mentioned as the father and ‘Catiya Devi’ as the mother. A photo of a cat was also attached to the application, along with a phone number and an email address.

Following the directives of Rohtas DM Udita Singh, Nasriganj revenue officer (RO) Kaushal Patel has filed an FIR under sections 132/61(b)/318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Nasriganj police station against unknown persons, and an investigation has been launched.

Residents in the state are allowed to file online applications under the Bihar Right To Public Service (RTPS) Act, and each submitted application is assessed and issued by the official concerned after due verification.

According to the FIR, the RTPS counter received an online application on July 27 with the mobile and email ID of the person who applied under the name.

“The act obstructed official work and appeared to be a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the government and public services. The name of the applicant, along with the listed father’s and mother’s names, are clearly false and intended as a mockery. The individual has attempted to ridicule the functioning of the government system by misusing the online platform, submitting fake details and a cat’s photo,” the FIR stated. This bizarre application sparked a lot of laughter on social media, but a few users criticised it for wasting the time of officials.

The development comes just weeks after two similar fake applications were filed in the same week, one under the name of ‘Dog Babu’ in Patna and the other ‘Sonalika Tractor’ in East Champaran. Another application was submitted in Samastipur district recently under the name of US President Donald Trump; the request was made through the government portal from the Mohiuddinnagar block.

The document included a photo of Trump and listed a local address in Hasanpur village. The fake applications prompted an investigation into the matter and resulted in two officials from Patna, who were overseeing the process, facing departmental action.

The government has taken serious note of these developments, and is planning to tighten RTPS to scan every application more carefully.