Four suspected pirates, including a ringleader, were beaten to death in separate incidents of mob attack in Hatiya upazila in Noakhali district on Saturday, reports UNB.
The victims were identified as Ashraf, 35, Kefayet, 35, Osman, 35, and Sarwar,33. They all hailed from different char areas of the upazila.
Police and witnesses said Ashraf, the leader of ‘Ashraf Bahini’ and a resident of Jahajmara area, was fleeing the area amid a chase by police early Saturday.
At one stage, local people caught him at Hilton Road and gave him a good beating around 3am, leaving him dead on the spot.
Meanwhile, another alleged pirate, Kefayet, was killed in a mass beating at Jonardona around 12:30pm.
Later, police arrested Kefayet’s brother, Pichhi Emran, from Char Kaderia and recovered one LG, three guns and 20 signal lights from his possession.
Two other suspected pirates — Osman and Sarwar — were caught red-handed by local people at Mohammadpur Bazar in the upazila around 2pm while fleeing.
They gave them a good thrashing, leaving both dead on the spot.
Police launched an operation in the coastal areas, including Char Kalam, Burir Char and Jahajmara, on August 27 to arrest pirates. So far, 15 people, including four women, were arrested from the areas.
Besides, 16 guns, six LGs, 32 cartridges and some sharp weapons were recovered from their possessions. Yunus Dakat, the leader of a pirate gang, was killed in a ‘gunfight’ between his cohorts and police at Char Kalam in Hatiya upazila early Friday. Besides, another alleged pirate was lynched in the same upazila on Friday.
Police Super Md Anisur Rahman said local people have been cooperating with the law enforcers in capturing the pirates as they pirates have established a reign of terror in the area though kidnapping fishermen and looting their valuables.
