IANS

Patna, Aug 24: A fake driving licence has been issued in the name of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi in Bihar's Saran district, officials said on Monday. The Congress MP's address on the licence is the official residence of Saran's district magistrate.

The district administration was not aware of the incident till a week ago.

"A driving licence (1847/09) in the name of Rahul Gandhi was issued by Saran district transport officer Puneeta Srivastava on May 18, 2009," a district official said.

The licence, which was stated to be valid from May 18, 2009 to May 17, 2022, also mentioned Rahul's father Rajiv Gandhi as the father of the licence holder. His permanent residence was given as Sansad Bhawan Marg, New Delhi.

"There is a signature of Saran district transport officer Puneeta Srivastava and her official seal is also on the driving licence issued in Rahul Gandhi's name," the official said.

The picture in the driving licence is not of the Congress MP, but of an unidentified youth.

Srivastava, however, denied having issued any such driving licence.

"It is a fake licence with my fake signature and official seal. In the past also several fake driving licences have been reported to defame me," Srivastava said.

This is not the first time a fake driving licence in tha name of a well-known person is being issued in Bihar. In the early 1990s, a fake licence was issued in the name of then Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief V. Prabhakaran.

A motorcycle licence had been issued in Prabhakaran's name by Dhanbad district transport officer Ramji Prasad Aug 21, 1993.

After that issue hit the headlines, the State Legislative Council set up a committee to inquire into it and the case was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).