'Pakistani spy' pigeon finds love in a hopeless place

Pigeon has reportedly been handed over to a bird lover in Pathankot

A pigeon detained in India on suspicion of being used to ‘spy’ for Pakistan has found a companion – an Indian male pigeon in Pathankot, according to Indian Express.

The Indian Express quoting sources said, “The Pakistani pigeon was handed over to Ramanjeet Singh, a bird lover in Pathankot, whose place boasts of ‘state-of-the-art facilities’ to keep pets in good comfort.”

Read: ’Spy’ pigeon from Pakistan jailed in India: report

Further, it said the pigeon allegedly from Pakistan is a ‘high flier bird bred for sport.’

“On Tuesday, I bought a similar male pigeon for INR250 from a local seller to make the female pigeon from Pakistan stress-free,” Singh said.

“Piegons are among the birds that bond with each other very fast and this is the best way to end the Pakistani bird’s isolation and give her company,” he added. Singh told reporters that hat he is feeding the birds with wheat, lentils, pigeon peas and black grams.

Regarding the pigeon controversy, Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kaushal said the pigeon’s wings were clipped by the man who first caught it.

Police suspect that the man, a resident of Manwal village in Pathankot, had been planning to keep the bird with him but might have panicked when he saw Urdu markings on it and approached the police with it.

Read: Islamia university students launch 'Spy Pigeon' app

A pigeon allegedly bearing a stamped message with a wire-like object on its body made Indian authorities question its flight into the village of Pathankot in Punjab.

According to reports, the bird landed on the mud brick house of Ramesh Chandra, a barber, in Manwal village, 4 kilometres from Pakistan’s border.

Suspicions were aroused by the Urdu markings which were reported to the nearest police station by Chandra’s son.

A part of the message was in Urdu, but the numbers appeared to be that of a landline telephone in Pakistan’s Narowal district.

The bird was then taken to a veterinary hospital in Pathankot for an X-ray which did not reveal any clues.

This article originally appeared on the Indian Express