Pigeon with ring around one leg with phone number found in Bengal: Police

Locals claimed the number was from Himachal Pradesh while police officials said they were random digits

A pigeon with a ring around one of its legs and a phone number engraved on it was found by locals in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri town on Wednesday, police said.

Police said they received information about the bird only after its death. (HT image sourced)

“A local shopkeeper found the pigeon sitting on the roof. He caught the bird as it appeared to be unwell and was hardly moving. Locals claimed that it had a ring and some digits engraved on it with a name,” said an officer of Jalpaiguri Kotwali police station.

Locals claimed the number was from Himachal Pradesh while police officials said they were random digits.

“We tried to contact the person whose number was mentioned. It was a mobile number from Himachal Pradesh. The person, however, could not be contacted. We believe that the bird flew down from Himachal Pradesh,” Parimal Biswas, a local resident, told media persons.

While the bird was caught on Sunday, it died two days later in a hailstorm, police said.

The police received the information only after the bird had died.

“By the time we got the information, the locals had buried it,” said the officer.

This development comes day after a pigeon was captured in Odisha’s Puri district while it had perched on the roof of a house. It had a brass tag and a plastic tag on its both legs.