‘Spy’ pigeon with Urdu ‘code’ on wings lands at house in Hoshiarpur village

A white pigeon with an Urdu inscription on its wings dropped in a house in Mukerian sub-division’s Motla village late Thursday, raising suspicion that it could be a ‘spy’ from the neighbouring country.

A white pigeon with an Urdu inscription on its wings dropped in a house in Mukerian sub-division’s Motla village late Thursday, raising suspicion that it could be a ‘spy’ from the neighbouring country.

The pigeon in Mukerian sub-division’s Motla village , in police custody. Mukerian is 35 km from Pathankot, which remains on a high alert after the airbase attack.(Harpreet Kaur/HT Photo)

Mukerian deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Bhupinder Singh told HT that only names of the days were stamped on the wings. (Harpreet Kaur/HT Photo)

One Naresh Kumar informed the police on Friday that a ‘sick looking’ pigeon had landed in his house last night. Kumar picked it up in the morning and spotted something written on its tail feathers. The police then found someone who could decipher the ‘code’. Mukerian deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Bhupinder Singh told HT that only names of the days were stamped on it.

“We sent the bird for an X-ray to verify if something was hidden inside but nothing suspicious was found. As a precaution, we are keeping the avian in our custody for the time being,” he said.

Mukerian is 35 km from Pathankot, which remains on a high alert after the airbase attack.