Police in Siddipet district have registered a cheating and impersonation case after a private internet operator allegedly used a government e-sign dongle to issue 21 death certificates, including 17 for people who were still alive, and three birth certificates. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday, while the main accused was reported to be absconding.
The case came to light after Santosh, who took charge as secretary of Rampur Gram Panchayat following the transfer of Bhukya Madhu, checked the browser history linked to the government certificate system. He found that 24 birth and death certificates had been issued between February and September 2026, although he had not issued any of them.
According to the report, Madhu told officials that S Ramesh, a private internet operator from Musheerabad, had accessed the system using the e-sign dongle and issued the certificates. The dongle had been secured from Madhu, who was the former Rampur Gram Panchayat secretary. Every Gram Panchayat secretary is provided access to a government e-sign dongle with a dedicated key number for issuing birth and death certificates.
Ramesh allegedly issued death certificates after establishing contact with people known to him in Hyderabad, Siddipet, Lingalaghanpur and other villages. The source reported that he also issued birth certificates to two children within his family and one certificate for another child.
The irregularities were brought to the notice of Siddipet district Collector K Hymavathi. Following her instructions, Mandal Panchayat Officer Sudhir Kumar lodged a complaint with Cheriyal police. Police subsequently booked Madhu and Ramesh under cheating and impersonation provisions and began investigating how the e-sign access was obtained and used.
Cheriyal police station Sub-Inspector G Apoorva Reddy said the investigation was continuing and that no one had been arrested at the time of the report. “We are trying to collect more details from Madhu and Ramesh about the intention behind using the e-sign dongle and misusing it to issue certificates,” she said, adding that Ramesh was absconding.
Police officials are also examining whether money changed hands, who may have benefited from the certificates and how Ramesh developed contact with Madhu. Investigators have so far verified the details of 21 death certificates and found that only four of the named persons were dead, while the remaining 17 were alive. The investigation is expected to establish the full extent of the alleged misuse and identify any additional beneficiaries.
