Patuakhali coast
Pirates abduct 8 fishermen, loot 10 trawlers
A gang of pirates abducted eight fishermen and looted nets, hilsa fish, fuel and cash worth about Tk over 50 lakh from 10 trawlers in coastal areas of the district on Friday night.
They also demanded Tk 2 lakh ransom from the families of each of the abducted fishermen, said the other fishermen who fled the scene and reached Patuakhali yesterday morning.
The kidnapped fishermen were identified as Ismail Majhi, 45, of Moudubi village, Ilius, 40 of Nijkata village, Sahidul Islam, 42, Ishaq Majhi, 35, of Rangabali village, Bhaddor Munshi, 38, of Dhankhali village, Jahangir Majhi, 35, of Lalua village-- all under Kalapara upazila and Alamgir Jomaddar, 36, and Kuddus Majhi, 30, of Lohalia village under Patuakhali Sadar upazila.
Abdul Jabbar, owner of an ill-fated fishing trawler said, a gang of pirates came from the direction of Bhola district and attacked the trawlers one after another from about 8:00 pm to 12:00 midnight on Friday. The incident took place when the trawlers were in deep sea, about 150 km away from Kuakata coastal area.
The armed gang attacked my FB Fatima. After looting all the trawlers and kidnapping the fishermen, they sped towards Charfashion area, Jabbar added.
During the attack, the gang gave a cell phone number to the fishermen to communicate with them, said Jabbar.
When they talked to the gang over the mobile phone, the pirates demanded Tk 2 lakh ransom from each abducted fisherman. They asked them to go to Charfashion area with the money while warned not to inform any law enforcing agencies," he added
At least five pirate gangs are active in Patuakhali, Bhola and Barguna coasts threatening the life of the fishermen in those areas during fishing, sources said.
The gangs are known as Gama Bahinee, Motaleb Bahinee, Zulfikar Bahinee, Nasir Bahini and Raju Bahinee.
They all have separate abode in the deep forest of Sundarbans, Fatrarbans and other areas in Patuakhali, Barguna and Bhola districts, sources added.
The pirate gangs looted at least 21 fishing trawlers and kidnapped 39 fishermen in the last 15 days in Barguna area alone, as hilsa season started there, said Golam Mostafa, president of Barguna Fishing Trawler Owners' Association.
Fishermen are worried as those pirate gangs are active in the fishing zone, said Nimai Chandra, secretary of Mohipur Fishing Trawler Association in Kuakata.
“We have demanded regular patrolling by the law enforcing agencies to save the life of fishermen and protect their fish resources”, he added.
Abu Bakar Siddique, additional police superintendent, Patuakhali told this correspondent that they are yet to get any written complaint about kidnapping fishermen or looting trawler.
"If anybody lodges complaint, we will definitely take necessary steps," he said.
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