The Press Trust of India reported that after the Indian police detained a suspected Chinese spy pigeon for eight months, the bird was finally cleared and released into the wild. 

Local media stated that in May, the pigeon was captured near a port in Mumbai with two rings tied to its legs, carrying a message that seemed Chinese. The police suspected it was involved in espionage and took it in, then sent it to Mumbai’s Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for animals.

However, it was revealed that the pigeon was an open-water racing bird from Taiwan that had escaped, reaching India. The bird was transferred to the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, whose doctors set it free on Tuesday after approval from the police who did not comment on the matter.

This is not the first incident in which a bird was suspended by Indian Police.

In 2020, a bird that flew from Pakistan was detained by the police in Kashmir and released after finding out that it was not a spy and belonged to a Pakistani fisherman after investigation.

Before that, in 2016, another pigeon carrying a note that threatened Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taken into custody.