This morning, the biggest news on all news channels is the deposition of terrorist David Headley. The Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Toiba operative told a special court in Mumbai that he travelled to India seven times before the deadly Mumbai attacks in 2008. He also admitted that he obtained a passport after changing his name to Dawood Gilani in 2006.
If you have tweeted the news, chances are, you have received a response from @passportsevamea, the official handle of the Indian passport office, asking you to "Pls quote file no."
The Indian government's verified Twitter handle that helps resolve passport issues have been spamming people all morning. All they want to know is Headley's file number.
@TheBrkNews Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 8, 2016
@IndiaTodayFLASH Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 8, 2016
@abpnewstv Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 8, 2016
@nandita_zee Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 8, 2016
@elizabe77648141 Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 8, 2016
@vofnindia Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if any.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 8, 2016
If your tweet has the words passport and India, Passport Seva will ask you for "file number."
It's not unusual for bots to handle Twitter accounts that get flooded with customer requests. Last year, British Airways faced some heat after it asked one of the world's best known cricketers, Sachin Tendulkar, for his "full name and address."
Tendulkar had tweeted that the airline carried his relative's luggage to the wrong destination. To which, the airline tweeted back to him asking him for his details — his full name, address and the baggage reference number. And Twitter simply lost it.
And not just Headley, Passport Seva's Twitter account seems to ask for file numbers for just about anything. Even if one shares a Facebook link.
@b34db0d102244fa Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 7, 2016
@brownbrumby Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 8, 2016
@madeinchina01 Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 7, 2016
@hrnext Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 7, 2016
@FidelisCow Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 7, 2016
@JamProlio Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 7, 2016
@rsaroja70 Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 8, 2016
@pagalpanti55 Thanks for ur Tweet. Pls quote file no, if not mentioned.
— PassportSeva Support (@passportsevamea) February 6, 2016
Clearly, they need a better bot. Or maybe, a human.
As far as Bots Go, Passport Seva Support in India has created the most ridiculous Bot pic.twitter.com/bDyZ7WpM6j
— Joy (@Joydas) February 4, 2016
Dei passport seva Kendra fellow. Stop replying to irrelavant tweets asking for file number.
— Krupakar Manukonda (@krupakar_m) February 8, 2016
The Indian passport seva bot is worse than the Airtel and Vodafone bots. https://t.co/ZkKkUXod7a
— Madhu Menon (@madmanweb) February 8, 2016
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