Four alleged members of a pirate gang, including its ringleader, were killed in a ‘gunfight’ with members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Bangladesh Coast Guard in the Sundarbans yesterday morning.
Lieutenant Colonel Faridul Alam, commanding officer of Barisal Rab-8, said they had got information that members of a pirate gang locally known as ‘Nayan Bahini’ were taking preparation to commit a robbery in the area, a joint team of RAB and Coast Guard launched a drive there. 19 fishermen were abducted from Barguna’s Patharghata area a few days ago and they were held hostage by Noyon Bahini, said Faridul Alam.
The team reached Kachikhali Chandeshwar area under Shoronkhola upzila, Bagerhat around 6:30am.
Sensing the presence of the joint team members, the pirates opened fire at them prompting the team members to fire back, triggering a gunfight. After 40 minutes’ gun battle, the pirates fled the scene.
Later, the joint team recovered the bodies of Manir Hossain,25, commander of ‘Nayan Bahini’ and son of Abduk Khalek of Patharghata upazila in Barguna district, and Enam Ahmed,35, deputy commander of the gang and its two members Gias Uddin,25, and Hachan,20, residents of Chittagong.
Eighteen firearms and 450 rounds of bullet were also recovered from the spot. The bodies of the dacoits were sent to Bagerhat Sadar Hospital morgue. Two cases were filed in this connection.
Earlier, two forest bandits were killed in a “gunfight” with RAB personnel at Tambulbunia canal of Chandpai range of the Sundarbans on December 28, last year.
The RAB members also recovered 17 firearms and 450 rounds of bullets from the forest during the drive.
Despite effort from law enforcment agencies, piracy in the Sundarbans has sharply risen with the killing of several fishermen and around 200 incidents of abduction in the last six months.
