3 min readBubaneswarMar 17, 2023 02:03 AM IST
First published on: Mar 16, 2023 at 06:04 PM IST
With another suspected spy pigeon caught in Odisha’s Puri district, in the second such incident in a week, an expert has said there is no need for panic about such birds.
The pigeon was caught Wednesday by a local as it came to mingle with other pigeons in Nanpur village under the Astarang block, according to police. It had tags attached to its legs with brass and plastic rings. One of the tags had “REDDY VSP DN” engraved on it, while another bore the number 31, said the police.
Bikram Pati, who caught the pigeon, told reporters that the pigeon had been in the area for a week. “We have pet pigeons at our house. This pigeon came to mingle with our doves, and we found something peculiar about it. It remained aloof and did not freely mix with the other pigeons. We also noticed some tags on its legs. So we decided to catch it,” said Pati.
Police said they were investigating whether the pigeon was being used for spying. Astaranga inspector-in-charge Panchanan Parida said the pigeon was with the forest department and that it would be sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL), Bhubaneswar, for further examination.
On March 8, a pigeon was caught from a fishing boat off the Paradip coast in Jagatsinghpur district, police said. That pigeon had devices that looked like a camera and a microchip fitted to it. It was also sent to the SFSL. The pigeon is currently with the Odisha Police Carrier Pigeon Service and will be sent to a Central Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. The pigeon is eating the same food as other pigeons, said a police officer.
Using pigeons for spying is said to be very common along India’s western borders but it is not very frequent in Odisha.
Ruling out the speculations that the pigeons were being used for spying, Bhubaneswar-based researcher and historian Anil Dhir said the two pigeons were Belgian Homer pigeons, the same breed used by the police’s carrier pigeon service.
“One has to understand that a homing pigeon is one that will fly back home after being released at a distance from its coop. No way can a pigeon be trained to fly to a destination and then return to the base it was released from,” said Dhir.
He said the figures written on the fantail feathers were suggestive that they might have been released from Burma, Cambodia, Thailand or Vietnam. Some birds do lose their way and fly offshore and make emergency landings on ships or trawlers mainly because of bad weather, he added.
Dhir said that with modern-day technology, one does not need pigeons for aerial photography as Google Maps is more effective and reliable.
Using pigeons for spying is said to be very common along India’s western borders but it is not very frequent in Odisha. (Representational Photo) 
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