Pirates shoot dead two in Hatia
161 fishermen yet to be rescued
A gang of pirates yesterday shot dead two people at Bashar Majhi Bazar in Hatia upazila.
Locals of Charbashar in the upazila identified the victims as Mohish Jamal, 30, and Ibrahim Kerani, 40, of the same area.
Noakhali Superintendent of Police (SP) Harunur Rashid Hazari said Amena Begum, 35, wife of Ibrahim told him that a gang attacked her husband with sharp weapons in her presence and abducted him along with Mohish Jamal. Later both were shot dead, according to locals.
Officer-in-charge Zahirul Islam of Hatia police station said they also heard that a gang of pirates abducted two people from Bashar Bazar area in the morning.
Our Correspondent in Cox's Bazar adds: At least 161 fishermen held captive along with their twelve trawlers in Sundarbans are yet to be rescued twenty days into their abduction.
The pirates are demanding Tk 10 lakh for each trawler as ransom for release of the kidnapped fishermen, sources said.
A trawler owner, Abdul Munaf, said pirate gangs kidnapped 204 fishermen at gunpoint from November 2 to 7 along with their fishing trawlers. Later, 43 fishermen were released by pirates to bring the ransom money.
The kidnapped fishermen have been kept in Dublar Char, Katka, Alampur and Narikel Baria of Khulna and Bagerhat district, claimed Munaf.
District police superintendent Nibash Chandra Majhi said they are preparing a list of the pirates of Cox's Bazar, Moheshkhali and Kutubdia area. Steps are being taken for early release of the fishermen, he said.
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