20 fishermen hurt, 7 kidnapped

BHOLA, Feb 7 (UNB): At least 20 fishermen were injured in an attack by pirates in the Meghna River under Moheshkhali area of Tajumuddin Upazila Thursday night.

Locals said, the pirates swooped on the trawlers when some fishermen were catching fish with seven trawlers in the area at around 11:00 pm.

The pirates looted 30 maunds of fish and some nets at gunpoint. They beat up the fishermen when they tried to resist the attackers, leaving 20 injured.

Later, the criminals kidnapped seven fishermen from three trawlers.  Of the seven fishermen, four were identified as Matin, Jahangir, Shafiq and Manjur.

The pirates demanded Tk 0.1 million for release of each fisherman, said Azad, a fish wholesaler of Tajumuddin Ghat.