Reviving the Panchayat Pigeon Scene at Chhattisgarh Independence Day Event

The bird, it is learnt, was sick. District police chief Girija Shankar Jaiswal has now sought disciplinary action against those responsible for the awkward situation.

A video of the moment, when the officer releases the bird and it goes down instead of up, has gone viral and sparked a meme fest. Many social media users have referred to the epic scene from the third season of popular web series Panchayat, in which the local MLA releases a pigeon and it drops dead.

At the flag hoisting ceremony organised by the local administration, BJP MLA and former minister Punnulal Mohle was the chief guest. Mungeli collector Rahul Deo, and Superintendent of Police Girija Shankar Jaiswal were also present.

The three guests were handed pigeons to release. While the pigeons released by the MLA and the Collector took to the sky, the one released by the top cop did not.

In the video, the senior police officer is seen asking organisers what went wrong. Left red-faced, the organisers swiftly arrange another pigeon and the officer releases it, successfully this time.

News agency PTI has said the police officer has written to the district collector, seeking action in the matter. “During a major national festival like Independence Day, the incident of a pigeon falling to the ground was prominently broadcast on social media and other media.

This situation was created as a result of presenting a sick pigeon for flying in the main district-level programme. Had it happened at the hands of the chief guest of the function and honourable MLA, then the situation would have been more unpleasant,” the top officer wrote in the letter.

“Certainly, the officer responsible for this work has not discharged his responsibility properly,” he added.