Pirates again rule Patuakhali coastal waters
13 fishermen abducted, 14 trawlers looted in 7 days
Fishermen feel insecure in the Bay as pirates abducted 13 fishermen and looted over Tk 1 crore nets, equipment, Hilsa fish and fuel from 14 trawlers in last seven days.
Of the abducted fishermen, 12 bought their freedom and returned to Kuakata, sources in local fishermen's association said.
On Tuesday, an armed tossed 28 fishermen of three trawlers into the Bay, abducted one and looted those. The trawlers were FB Faruq, FB Zaman and FB Jasim, the sources said.
The abducted fisherman--Harun, 30 of Mohipuris yet to return to the shore, said Fazlu Gazi president of Mohipur fishermen's association.
The pirated attacked the trawlers when they were returning to Mohipur with Hilsa fish from the Bay.
All the 28 fishermen were rescued by other trawlers and they returned to Mohipur. This correspondent also talked to some of the survivors.
On January 9 a gang of pirates allegedly led by Raju Ahmed kidnapped 60 fishermen with their 11 trawlers when they were fishing in Bay waters, about 40 kilometres from Kuakata.
The pirates took them to the Sundarbans and demanded Tk 3 crore as ransom.
This was known when one of them, freed by the abductors, returned to Kuakata.
The freed fisherman could identify 11 fishermen still held hostage by the pirates. They are Mohsin, of Shyamnagar in Satkhira; Ranajit and Khali of Alipur in Patuakhali; Shahjahan Ali, Rajib, Zakir, Abul Kalam Azad, Amdadul Haq, Nurul Islam, Jasim, and Al-Amin of Pathorghata upazila in Barguna district. After two days, the 11 fishermen bought freedom by paying Tk 1 lakh, sources in Mohipur fishermen's association said.
When contacted, Kuakata naval police said they did not know anything about incident as no fishermen complained to them.
A Coast Guard official in Bhola told this correspondent over cell phone that they are preparing launch an operation against pirates in the Bay, but facing shortage of vessels.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments