Bangladeshi pirates handed over to police

Five members of a gang of Bangladeshi pirates who attacked three trawlers, leaving three dead and ten injured, were taken to Kulpi in South 24 Parganas by fishermen in the early hours today and handed over to the police.Though the fishermen had caught eight pirates, who intercepted the three trawlers off Kenduakhali in the Bay of Bengal, three managed to escape, police sources said.The three fishermen who died in the firing by the pirates were identified as Sripon Das, his father Dulal Das and Monomaran Das, the sources said.The pirates kidnapped 14 other fishermen, including Niranjan Das, who was seriously injured.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 ten 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.The pirates, who also boarded Ma Tara, kidnapped 14 fishermen and sailed away on the trawler to Bangladesh waters. The three pirates who jumped into the sea swam to Ma Tara and escaped.The five pirates caught by the fishermen were taken to Namkhana and the bodies were sent to the Diamond Harbour Hospital for post mortem.Six of the injured fishermen were admitted to the same hospital, while three others were take to the Chittaranjan National Medical College and Hospital.Since a huge crowd had collected at Namkhana, the captive pirates, were not offloaded by the fishermen fearing that they would be lynched.The eight pirates were taken to Kulpi and handed over by the fishermen to the police there. They were being interrogated, police sources said.Union Minister of state for Information and Broadcasting CS Jatua and and West Bengal Sundarbans Development Minister Shyamal Mondal were at the scene.