Staff Reporter:
Coast Guard (CG) members rescued 33 fishermen, including six women, from a den of pirates in a deep jungle in the Sundarbans.
The pirates had allegedly abducted the fishermen for ransom a few days back.
The CG men also recovered 16 fishing boats from the den but no pirate could be detained in this regard. All the victims hail from Koyra upazila of Khulna district.
According to a CG statement issued on Thursday, the operatives of the notorious Karim Sharif pirate gang abducted the fishermen and took away their boats while they were fishing in the Karkari River of the mangrove forest.
The pirates took the victims to their den and demanded Tk10,000 as ransom from each of the victim’s families, reads the statement.
Tipped-off, the CG members from Mongla Base and Nalian Outpost conducted a raid in the river to rescue the victims from 11am to 7pm on Wednesday.
Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the pirates opened fire in the blank and at one stage they fled the remote forest, said the statement.
Later, the fishermen were rescued from the den, along with their boats.
