Late last week a humble pigeon was captured by police in India on suspicion that the bird was a spy sent over from neighboring Pakistan. The pigeon was reported by a teenage boy living in the Indian village Manwal, (Punjab state) located some two miles from the border. The reason for the capture was because, BBC News reports, there was a a “stamped message” on its body, written in Urdu. Although the message has yet to be revealed to the media, rumors are that the message also contains a telephone number from Pakistan. The Daily Mail notes that the avian interloper could be holding a telephone code from the Pakistani city of Shakar Garh, although there is no official confirmation that this is true.
The Times of India states that the “arrest” comes two days after the Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) alerted about the possibility of Indian Mujahideen being active in Jammu and Pathankot areas. Whether this put the local population on high alert, suspicious of even a random pigeon, or whether the bird is a trained secret message carrier or “spy” is, as yet, uncertain.
Police have confirmed that the bird was carrying no secret agent spyware, with cameras, microphones, SIM cards and so on being conspicuously absent.
The bird is officially being detained because, as recorded in the police record, it is a “suspected spy.” Ramdas Jagjit Singh Chahal, a police officer has told The Daily Telegraph that the pigeon looks “different” from Indian ones. The pigeon is described as being white-colored and gray-flecked, with no distinctive distinguishing features.
The police superintendent is quoted by The Independent as saying: “Nothing adverse has been found, but we have kept the bird in our custody.” He added that: “The area is sensitive, given its proximity to Jammu, where infiltration is quite common.” Although, by infiltration, this is a reference to spies of human origin rather than the feathered variety.
The bird is being held in custody, at a secure location in Pathankot, indefinitely. Police have stated that no one is allowed to visit the bird.
