A bizarre attempt to register ‘Donald Trump’ as a resident of a village in Bihar has prompted the Samastipur district administration to file a police case and launch an investigation into what officials are calling a deliberate mischief.
According to the administration, someone submitted an online application for a residence certificate on July 29, claiming that the US President Donald Trump was living in Hasanpur village of the district. The prankster went so far as to include a photograph of Trump and list his parents as Frederick Christ Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod, which are indeed the names of the real Trump’s parents.
The application was rejected on August 4 by the revenue department during scrutiny. “A fake application was filed in the name of Donald Trump. It was never approved. We have lodged an FIR at the cyber police station for further investigation,” said a senior district official. “The guilty will not be spared,” the administration added.
Officials suspect that the prank was aimed at disrupting the special intensive revision of electoral rolls currently underway across Bihar, as per the Election Commission’s directions. “It appears there is a deliberate attempt to influence the electoral process in a negative way,” the administration said in a statement.
This is not the first time such mischief has occurred during the ongoing voter roll update. In recent weeks, fake applications have also been filed in the name of ‘Dog Babu’ and ‘Dogesh Babu’ in rural Patna and Nawada, and one in East Champaran in the name of ‘Sonalika Tractor’, accompanied by the photo of a Bhojpuri actress. All these applications were rejected, and FIRs were registered in the respective police stations.
The incident gained political attention when Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala shared a media report suggesting that the certificate had been issued to the Trump applicant. Calling it “the biggest proof that electoral roll revision in Bihar is a fraud,” he accused the ruling party of attempting to manipulate the electoral rolls and said, “The Congress and Rahul Gandhi are fighting to stop this. Silence in such a situation is criminal.”
In response, the Samastipur administration clarified, “No certificate was issued. The application was rejected during verification, and appropriate legal action is being taken.”
Authorities have assured the public that they are taking these incidents seriously and will track down those attempting to make a mockery of the electoral process.
