Pigeon in Indian custody, suspected fowl play

WASHINGTON — A suspected spy has been jailed in India but so far he’s not talking.

That’s because he is a pigeon.

(File photo, courtesy of Thinkstock)
(File photo, courtesy of Thinkstock)

According to the Daily Mail, Indian authorities have a pigeon they believe to be a “spy” for Pakistani intelligence in custody. The bird had reportedly landed in the town of Manwal near the Pakistan border in Punjab province, and had aroused the suspicions of a 14-year-old Indian boy who noted a stamped message in Urdu on the pigeon’s tail that read ‘Tehsil Shakargarh, district Narowal’, along with some numbers.

The bird, who has been X-rayed, is also said to have arrived with a wire-like object on his body.  Officials found nothing else unusual about the feathered intruder, yet he is still listed as “a suspected spy.” An official at the veterinary hospital where he was inspected for foul play, told The Times of India, “Nothing adverse has been found, but we have kept the bird in our custody.’

Pakistan and India have a long history of political, religious and ethnic tensions.

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