Five fishermen, who were rescued by their Indian counterparts after a pirate attack on them in the Bay, were undergoing treatment at an Indian hospital in police custody and facing criminal cases.
Contacted, Barguna district trawler owners’ association president Golam Mostafa Chowdhury confirmed the incident and said Indian police filed two criminal cases against the fishermen.
The fishermen are Zakir Hossain Khan of Swarankhola upazila in Bagerhat, Golam Mostafa and Nurul Islam of Mathbaria upazila in Pirojpur, Bishnu Prashad and Hiru Khan of Pathaghata upazila in Barguna district. They were admitted to Kkakdwip Hospital in South 24 Pargana of India with critical bullet wounds on January 26.
Barguna district trawler workers’ association president Abdul Mannan said a group of pirates attacked the fishermen on the day when they were fishing in the sea.
At one stage, some fishermen jumped into the water as the gang opened fire at the trawler indiscriminately.
Later, the Indian fishermen rescued the five Bangladeshi fishermen and took them to the hospital.
On information, police rushed to the hospital and brought all the rescued fishermen under their custody. They later filed the cases against them.
Both Mostafa and Mannan urged the government to take immediate steps to get the five fishermen released.
Talking to UNB, Bagerhat police superintendent Khandokar Rafiqul Islam said they were looking into the matter.
Meanwhile, Divisional Forest Officer Mihir Kumar Doe of the Sundarbans East Zone said they, with the help of coast guard members, seized an Indian trawler from Chhapra Khali Char under Swarankhola upazila on January 29.
The DFO said pirates might have snatched the trawler when it entered into Bangladesh water territory.
Bagerhat police superintendent said they brought the matter to the notice of Indian Embassy through high officials and it also inquired about the vessel.
2012 thedailystar.net