M A I N   N E W S

Bangladeshi pirates kill 3 Indian fishermen

Kolkata, January 28
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, the police said today.

The three dead fishermen were identified as Sripon Das, his father Dulal Das and Monomaran Das, the 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 today 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 10 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. — PTI