Police said the case was registered against Azeez Abdulla, an NRI from Kasargode, and a lady staff of an Akshaya centre, an IT-enabled services delivery centre, in the district.Police have registered a criminal case against an NRI and an employee of an IT-based services delivery centre on charges of applying Aadhaar card for a cat. The incident was reported from Kasaragod district on Wednesday.

Police said they acted upon a complaint from the Unique Identification Authority of India, after its officials at the regional centre in Bangalore noticed that a photo of a cat had been uploaded in the Aadhaar application form. The officials had noticed the photo of the pet animal while processing the application for issuing the card.

Abdulla wanted to take his Persian cat to Gulf, where he is employed. He was advised by a travel agent in Kasaragod that the cat should carry some valid documents. Hence, he decided to apply for an Aadhaar card for his pet animal. The lady staff at the Akshaya centre accepted the application form for the cat, which was given a fake name. Its photo was uploaded and other formalities were completed.

Police sources said after Abdulla got some queries from the officials regarding the application of the cat, he had tendered an apology addressed to the State IT Mission Director.

Police said the alleged accused have claimed they had tried to get an Aadhaar card for the cat due to their ignorance. They have not been arrested so far. The duo would face charges under IPC sections of 465(forgery), 468(forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document).