Sunday Times 2
Spy pigeon jailed in India
A pigeon was been arrested and jailed in India on suspicion of being a ‘spy’ after it landed in Manwal village, around two and a half miles from the Pakistan border.
File pic of pigeon
It was discovered on Wednesday by a 14-year-old boy whose suspicions were aroused when he spotted a stamped message in Urdu on its tail that read ‘Tehsil Shakargarh, district Narowal’, along with some numbers.
This is an area in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
The boy ran with the bird to the nearest police post, with officers agreeing that the bird could be up to no good.
They had the avian intruder X-rayed at a veterinary hospital in Pathankot.
Pathankot senior superintendent of police Rakesh Kaushal told The Times Of India: ‘Nothing adverse has been found, but we have kept the bird in our custody.’
The bird was listed in police records as a ‘suspected spy’, according to the newspaper.
Earlier this year ISIS militants reportedly captured at least 15 pigeon breeders in Iraq after deciding it is against Islamic religion to keep birds.
Three of those held by the group in the eastern province of Diyala were reportedly killed, according to a security official.
Abu Abdullah, a farmer, said a total of six gunmen barged into his home and dragged away his 21-year-old son.
Mr Abdullah’s son is just one of the 15 young men – all aged between 16 and 22 – who have reportedly been captured in the province for breeding birds.
Pigeon breeding is a popular hobby in the region, but it is said to be frowned upon by extremist Islamist fighters because they believe it is a distraction from worshipping Allah.
Mr Abdullah, 52, said he was standing beside his son when ISIS militants stormed the family home and kidnapped his son.
‘© Daily Mail, London