A Siddipet death certificates scam has prompted a police investigation after 21 death certificates and three birth certificates were allegedly issued by misusing a government e-sign dongle, including documents issued for people who were still alive.
The case involves S Ramesh, a private internet operator from Musheerabad, and Bhukya Madhu, the former secretary of Rampur Gram Panchayat in Siddipet district. Cheriyal police booked both men in a cheating and impersonation case after a complaint was lodged by Mandal Panchayat Officer Sudhir Kumar on the instructions of district Collector K Hymavathi.
According to the police, Ramesh allegedly accessed the e-sign dongle assigned to the gram panchayat secretary and used it to issue 21 death certificates and three birth certificates. The birth certificates included documents for two children within his family and another child, the report said. The alleged death certificates were issued to people known to Ramesh in Hyderabad, Siddipet, Lingalaghanpur and other villages.
The suspected misuse came to light after Santosh took charge as the new Rampur Gram Panchayat secretary following Madhu’s transfer. Santosh checked the browser history and found that 24 certificates had been issued between February and September 2026, despite not having issued any certificates himself. When officials questioned Madhu, he allegedly admitted that Ramesh had accessed the dongle and issued the documents.
Each gram panchayat secretary is given access to a government e-sign dongle with a dedicated key number for issuing birth and death certificates. The device enables officials to authenticate records digitally, making control over the device and associated credentials central to the certificate-issuing process.
Police said they verified details from 21 death certificates and found that only four of the people named in them had died. The remaining 17 were alive, according to the report. The finding has raised questions about how the certificates were generated, who requested them and whether any of the documents were used for official or financial purposes.
Cheriyal Police Station Sub-Inspector G Apoorva Reddy said the case was under investigation and that no one had been arrested as of Tuesday. She said investigators were seeking more information from Madhu and Ramesh about the purpose of using the e-sign dongle. Ramesh was reported to be absconding.
The investigation will also examine possible money transactions, if any, connected with issuing the certificates, as well as the identities of people who may have benefited from them. Police are also looking into how Ramesh developed contact with Madhu.
The alleged misuse puts the spotlight on the administrative chain behind vital records that are often required for inheritance, insurance, pensions, property transactions, welfare access and other official processes. In this case, however, the police investigation is still under way, and the report does not establish whether any of the allegedly issued certificates were used to secure benefits or alter other government records. The next steps depend on the police tracing Ramesh, examining the digital access history and determining the role of any other individuals.
