UP drone mystery: 2 held for using LED-lit pigeons to spread rumours

Two individuals, identified as Shoeb and Sakib, were arrested after the police investigated complaints from villagers.

Two men were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday for allegedly using pigeons strapped with red and green lights to spread false rumours of drone sightings in the district, Hindustan Times reported.

Recently, panic had gripped several villages across western UP due to reports of drone sightings, causing villagers to start night vigil out of fear for their safety, police were quoted by HT as saying.

As per the report, two individuals, identified as Shoeb and Sakib, were arrested after the police investigated complaints from villagers about mysterious flying objects with lights in the night sky that they suspected to be drones, they said.

"During the investigation, the police recovered two pigeons, a cage, and red and green LED lights from the accused. They confessed to tying the lights to the pigeons’ legs and releasing them at night so that the people assumed that they were seeing drones from a distance," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjay Kumar was quoted as saying.

The gang was operating in Jatwara village under Kakroli police station limits, the SSP added.

A case was registered under the relevant section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). SSP Kumar announced a reward of ₹20,000 for the police team involved in cracking the case, the report added.