BHOPAL: In a bizarre incident in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh, a State police constable announced a reward of Rs 3000 for tracing his missing parrot ‘Chiku.’ Interestingly, the bounty helped police constable Pawan Aniya get back his doting pet within just 24 hours on Tuesday.
Aniya is the second cop in three months in Betul to have got his missing parrot back. In January, a deputy SP Madan Mohan Samar, also posted in tribal-dominated Betul district, had got his parrot ‘Tunnu’ back three days after he went missing, but only after he announced a reward of Rs 5,100 on social media for the missing bird.
The uncanny episode with constable Pawan Aniya (posted at Athner police station in Betul) happened on Monday afternoon.
“Chiku has been the most prized member of my small family. He joined our family two years ago and since then was a seminal part of it. My mother Maya couldn’t live without the uncaged parrot,” Aniya told The New Indian Express on Tuesday.
“On Monday afternoon at around 3 pm, the parrot suddenly flew out of the house after some guests came and threw a wooden stick at it accidentally. When Chiku went missing my mother stopped eating and drinking,” said Aniya.
Aniya first tried to search for Chiku on his own in Betul town. But, unable to trace the missing parrot, he published an advertisement in local newspapers, announcing Rs 3000 bounty for anyone who brought Chiku back alive.
“I even posted Chiku's pictures on social media platforms comprising my police and non-police friends,” said Aniya.
The idea of cash bounty immediately delivered desired results as a utensil seller Pramod, who lives in an adjacent locality, brought Chiku back.
“Pramod spotted Chiku and caught hold of the parrot on Monday evening. On Tuesday, when he saw the advertisement in the newspaper, he came to my house along with Chiku and claimed the cash prize at around 3 pm,” said Aniya.