Pigeon Detained on Suspicion of Spying

A pigeon was taken into custody by Indian police last week when residents along the border with Pakistan suspected it was involved in a spy caper. The bird wasn't bearing a message when it was caught, but it did have a Pakistani phone number and address stamped on its body in red ink, AFP reports, adding that it was held in an air-conditioned room under the watch of armed guards. Local pigeon aficionados also advised police that Pakistani pigeons look different from Indian ones—and this one clearly belonged to their archenemies across the border.

While a raft of Indian newspapers carried the story—at least one on Page 1—the district's police chief later downplayed it, telling CNN the spy theory was just "speculation" on the part of local residents and that authorities never bought it. The bird has been released to wildlife authorities, he said. No word on whether anyone tried the phone number.
(More pigeon stories.)