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A pigeon carrying a threatening message for India’s Prime Minister has been taken into custody after being discovered near the country’s border with Pakistan.
The grey pigeon was found with a message referring to the 1971 war between Pakistan and India and was addressed to PM Narendra Modi.
The letter, which was written in Urdu, was roughly translated as: “Modi, we’re not the same people from 1971. Now each and every child is ready to fight against India.”
The bird was found at Pathankot in the northern state of Punjab, where militants based in Pakistan launched a deadly attack on an airforce base in January.
Inspector of Narot Jaimal Singh police station (Pathankot) Ramesh Kumar said: “The pigeon was carrying the letter when it was found,” he said, adding the bird has been taken into “custody”. We are investigating the matter.”
The note was apparently signed by the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Two balloons with messages written in Urdu and addressed to Modi were found at Ghesal village in Dinanagar of Gurdaspur, which had witnessed a terror attack last year.
It is not the first time birds have been used in the long running dispute between India and Pakistan.
On September 23, a white pigeon, apparently from across the border, with a message written in Urdu was found in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district.
Last year a pigeon was arrested after being accused of being a spy when it was found near the border between India and Pakistan fitted with a “wire-like device”.
The bird, which had an address and phone number on its tail which officials said was written in Pakistani Urdu, was X-rayed to check if it was carrying a spy camera, transmitter or hidden chip.
Police superintendent Rakesh Kaushal confirmed at the time: “We have kept the bird in our custody. This is a rare instance of a bird from Pakistan being spotted here. We’ve caught a few spies here.”
In 2013, Indian security forces found a dead falcon fitted with a small camera, and in 2010 another pigeon was detained.
Tens of thousands have died and two wars have been fought over the disputed region since the end of British rule and partition in 1947.
