The Odisha police have seized a pigeon that was caught on a fishing trawler off the coast of the state and had electronic devices that resemble a camera and a computer chip attached to its legs. Senior police officials said that the devices have been sent for forensic examination, and it is yet unclear what these electronic items are, and why they were found on the pigeon.
The crew of the merchandised fishing trawler caught the pigeon out of curiosity and handed it over to the marine police station after reaching the fishing jetty. (ANI)
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Rahul PR, superintendent of police (SP) Jagatsinghpur, said that the pigeon was found perched on the mechanised fishing trawler Sarathi, 75 nautical miles off the Jagatsinghpur coast. “Out of curiosity, the crew caught the pigeon and handed it over to the Paradip marine police station on Wednesday after reaching the fishing jetty. The bird was examined and the devices that were tied to its legs have been sent for forensic examination,” said the SP.
The police official said that there were also something written on the wings of the bird in a foreign language, but that too has yet to be deciphered. Sankar Behera, operator of the trawler, said as soon the crew memebrs of the trawler found the camera and chip, they wrapped it with black tape. Officials said that the forensic examination is expected to be kept for a week.
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Till then, police officials said, the pigeon is being kept in safe custody. “If we find something incriminating, we may lodge cases against unknown people,” he said.
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Till then, police officials said, the pigeon is being kept in safe custody. “If we find something incriminating, we may lodge cases against unknown people,” he said.
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“The bird will be kept in the police pigeon loft,” he added.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
