Police in India suspected a captured pigeon was really a spy for China.
A pigeon suspected of being a spy for China has been cleared of wrongdoing and allowed to fly home after spending eight months in bird jail.
Police in India announced the pigeon's release this week, saying the avian arrestee was nabbed in May, sporting two metal bands around its feet bearing writing that appeared to be Chinese.
Officers transferred the suspect to Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals, where it remained in custody.
But after a lengthy investigation, authorities determined the bird was actually a racing pigeon from Taiwan that had veered off course and entered Indian airspace.
After being deemed to be no threat to Indian intelligence, the bird was transferred to the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, where it was set free Tuesday.
It's not unusual for Indian authorities to suspect pigeons of criminal behavior, according to The Associated Press.
In 2020, a pigeon belonging to a Pakistani fisherman was released after an investigation determined the bird was not a spy. The pigeon had flown across the heavily armed border between the rival countries, both of which have nuclear arsenals.
Four years before that, a pigeon was arrested after authorities found it was a note that threatened then-Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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