8 months on, pigeon suspected of spying still in Mumbai hospital’s care, custody

A pigeon caught in Mumbai with a message in an illegible language on its wings has been kept in a hospital for eight months while police investigated.

Strap: We assumed the bird had been released since the hospital had sent us a letter in this regard: Police officer

Mumbai, India - Jan. 16, 2024: Bought on 18th May 2023 by RCF Police personnel, due to the message written in red and green on his wings , suspected to be Chinese language, the pigeon has in custody of BSPCA animal hospital ever since. With no communication from RCF police station , it will continue to stay in cage there indefinitely, at Parel, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. ( Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Among the eight birds safely ensconced in cages at Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals in Parel is an uninvited guest - a pigeon with no injuries or no signs of sickness. But its fault is it was caught in the wrong place with a message inscribed on its wings in an illegible language.

Suspecting the language to be Chinese, police handed it over to the hospital to run a medical test on the bird while they sent the two rings on its leg for a forensic examination to rule out the possibility of it spying in the Indian territory.

It was eight months ago.

Since then, the hospital has given the bird a clean bill of health. Even the message on its wings has gradually faded. However, the poor creature is counting its days in the four confines of the cage.

“The pigeon was given to us on May 18, 2023, by the RCF (Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers) police in Chembur where it was caught,” Dr Mayur Dangar, the hospital’s manager, said.

It had two rings on its leg, one copper and the other aluminum, he said. “A message in Chinese or a similar language was imprinted on its wings - in red on one side and green on the other.”

To be sure, RCF is one of the vital installations.

Dr Dangar has his own reason to keep the bird at the hospital. “As the pigeon has been given to us in police custody, and we’re the only animal hospital in the city, we cannot refuse it or set it free till the police say so.”

However, he added, the hospital has not received any communication from the police as to what should be done to the bird.

When contacted, assistant police inspector Ravindra Patil from RCF police station expressed surprise that the pigeon was still in the hospital’s custody. “We had received a letter from them regarding setting it free, so we assumed it was released.”

Ruling out the spy angle, the officer said the pigeon was a racing bird and it had accidentally arrived in the city by a ship from Taiwan where it is used for the sport that takes place in open waters.

“I will send a letter to the hospital this week letting them know they can set it free,” Patil added.

The hospital has only eight cages, and the bird has eaten into the space that could be used to house other injured or sick birds.

On Makar Sankranti, the hospital received 11 pigeons caught in the kite strings.

“Birds that have infections cannot be kept in the same cage,” Dr Dangar said. “But we occasionally have to keep more than one bird in a single cage. Three cages are currently occupied by the pigeons injured by kite strings while the remaining are out in the aviary. This pigeon has taken up an important room that could be used to take in other birds.”

Now with the police clearing the bird of all charges, it can be released in the open soon.

The hospital is no stranger to animals sent by the police. They have had two cows - one from Malwani police station and the other from Wadala police station, as well as two horses in their custody for years.

The hospital that was once known as the Bombay Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals takes in animals that have suffered cruelty and keeps them till they are adopted or die naturally.