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Alleged spy pigeon in Mumbai: Not the first time that Indian security forces have captured birds
Photo:
Anshuman Poyrekar/dpa
A pigeon has been detained in India for eight months on suspicion of Chinese espionage activities. She has since been released, Indian media such as “The Indian Express” reported, citing local authorities.
Police captured the bird with two rings on its leg last May near the coast of India's financial center Mumbai. They say they discovered characters on the wings and assumed they were Chinese. The pigeon was housed in an individual cage at an animal hospital.
Subsequent police investigations revealed that it was not a spy bird, but a stray racing pigeon from Taiwan. Such animals can bring their owners a lot of prize money in tournaments. Nevertheless, the bird had to remain in the cage for months - because it had simply been forgotten, they said. It was only when the animal clinic and the animal rights organization PETA recently drew attention to the case that the police approved his release this week.
This is not the first time that Indian security forces have captured birds. In 2020, for example, a pink-painted pigeon with a ring with numbers on its leg was hit. She also later turned out to be a racing pigeon - at the time from Pakistan. India has very tense relations with both China and Pakistan - many soldiers guard the border with the two neighboring countries.
swe/dpa