Kolkata:
A gang of Bangladeshi pirates attacked three Indian trawlers in the Bay of Bengal killing three fishermen, including a father and a son, and hijacked one of these vessels holding 14 fishermen captive.
Nine fishermen were also injured in the firing by the eight pirates late last night off Kenduakhali in the Bay of Bengal, about 350 km from here, police said on Saturday.
The three dead fishermen were identified as Sripon Das, his father Dulal Das and Monomaran Das, police sources said.
Fishermen caught eight pirates who were part of the group which intercepted the three trawlers but three managed to escape, the sources said.
The captured sea brigands were taken to Kulpi in South 24 Parganas by fishermen in the early hours today and handed over to the police which is interrogating them.
According to the police, 14 trawlers, each with 14 to 15 fishermen on board, had set sail for the Bay of Bengal on Friday 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.
One of these fishermen identified as Niranjan Das was seriously injured. The fate of the captive fishermen was not immediately known.
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 of the three fishermen were sent to the Diamond Harbour Hospital for post mortem.
Six of the injured fishermen were admitted in one hospital while three others were take to the Chittaranjan National Medical College and Hospital.
Since a huge crowd had gathered at Namkhana, the captive pirates were not offloaded by the fishermen fearing that they would be lynched.
Union Minister of state for Information and Broadcasting C S Jatua and and West Bengal Sundarbans Development Minister Shyamal Mondal were at the spot monitoring the situation.