Baripada: Amid the controversy over five baby orangutans, a pigeon suspected to be linked to Bangladesh was rescued in a village in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, prompting police to launch an inquiry.
The pigeon was spotted by family members of Harish Chandra Puhan near their house at Kashipada village, under Betanati block and Baisinga police station, on Tuesday afternoon.
A blue metal ring, resembling brass, was found attached to one of its legs, with ‘BAN-2024’ and ‘701831’ marked on it.
Several locals who gathered at the spot were of the view that ‘BAN’ could refer to Bangladesh.
Harish Puhan’s son Srikash rescued the bird and informed Baisinga police. He later handed over the pigeon to the police station.
Betnoti SDPO Minati Biswal and Baisinga PS officer Babashankar Saraf examined the markings on the ring.
Preliminary suspicion is that the bird may have originated from Bangladesh and was released or tagged in 2024.
However, police have not yet established the significance of ‘701831’, neither confirmed the pigeon’s origin with certainty.