India: a carrier pigeon, suspected of being a “Chinese spy”, released after eight months of investigation
In India, a pigeon has just been released after eight months of investigation: the police suspected it of having been used to spy for the benefit of China. After a lengthy investigation, he was finally cleared.
Arrests of homing pigeons for espionage are not rare in India (illustrative image). Getty Images - Geraint Rowland Photography
By: RFI Follow
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With our correspondent in New Delhi
,
Sébastien Farcis
It was two rings hanging on the bird's legs that alerted the Bombay police: they indeed included inscriptions in Chinese characters. The pigeon was therefore immediately suspected of working for Beijing, and placed in detention in a veterinary clinic in Bombay.
An escape from a race in Taiwan
But after eight months of investigation, the Indian services can breathe easy: the bird had in fact escaped from a race in Taiwan, ending up thousands of kilometers away, on the Indian coast. Bleached, the bird was able to take flight again.
However, this is not the first time that India
has
suspected its neighbors and adversaries of using carrier pigeons to communicate or spy: four years ago, the police had already arrested one of these birds which had crossed the border militarized Kashmir with Pakistan, before laundering it: the pigeon actually belonged to a fisherman.
Also listen: India-China: antagonism to what extent?
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