Kolkata: A gang of Bangladeshi pirates
attacked three Indian trawlers in the Bay of Bengal killing
three fishermen including a father and a son and hijacked one
of these vessels holding 14 fishermen captive.
Nine fishermen were also injured in the firing by the
eight pirates late last night off Kenduakhali in the Bay of
Bengal, about 350 km from here, police said today.
The three dead fishermen were identified as Sripon Das,
his father Dulal Das and Monomaran Das, police sources said.
Fishermen caught eight pirates who were part of the
group which intercepted the three trawlers but three managed
to escape, the sources said.
The captured sea brigands were taken to Kulpi in South
24 Parganas by fishermen in the early hours on Saturday and handed
over to the police which is interrogating them.
According to the police, 14 trawlers, each with 14 to 15
fishermen on board, had set sail for the Bay of Bengal
yesterday morning.
The pirates, who came in a motorised boat, attacked
three of the trawlers, Ma Basanti-I, Ma Basanti-II and Ma
Tara, which had fallen behind at Kenduakhali at 10:30 am and
opened fire killing three fishermen and injuring ten others.
The fishermen who died and were injured were onboard Ma
Basanti-I.
The fishermen on the trawlers fought the pirates and
caught eight of them, but three of them jumped into the
waters and escaped.
The pirates, who also boarded Ma Tara, kidnapped 14
fishermen and sailed away on the trawler to Bangladesh waters.
One of these fishermen identified as Niranjan Das was
seriously injured. The fate of the captive fishermen was not
immediately known.
The three pirates who jumped into the sea swam to Ma
Tara and escaped.
The five pirates caught by the fishermen were taken to
Namkhana and the bodies of the three fishermen were sent to
the Diamond Harbour Hospital for post mortem.
Six of the injured fishermen were admitted in one
hospital while three others were take to the Chittaranjan
National Medical College and Hospital.
Since a huge crowd had gathered at Namkhana, the captive
pirates were not offloaded by the fishermen fearing that they
would be lynched.
Union Minister of state for Information and Broadcasting
CS Jatua and and West Bengal Sundarbans Development Minister
Shyamal Mondal were at the spot monitoring the situation.
PTI
