Hyderabad, Nov. 10 -- A racket in which fake death certificates were allegedly churned out using a panchayat official's digital signature has been busted in Telangana's Siddipet district.

Cherial Police have booked two people after a preliminary inquiry. They are Bhukya Madhu, secretary of Rampur gram panchayat in Cherial mandal, and Ramesh, who runs an internet centre in Hyderabad.

Dongle handed over for a bribe

The case was registered on a complaint from the Mandal Panchayat Officer. According to the complaint, Madhu allegedly handed over his government-issued e-sign dongle, the digital signature key used to authorise official records, to Ramesh in exchange for a bribe.

Speaking to Siasat.com, Cherial Sub-Inspector G Apoorva Reddy s...