Pirates kidnap 40 fishermen

Pirates kidnapped at least forty fishermen along with a trawler in the Bay in last couple of days for ransom. Sharankhola Upazila Matshyajibi Samity of Bagerhat district said a gang of pirates, numbering 20/25 and equipped with firearms and sharp weapons, swooped on fishing trawlers and kidnapped 40 fishermen on Thursday night in Techdia and Laldia char area under Sharankhola Upazila. The bandits beat some of the fishermen and looted, money, fishing nets and other valuable items from them. They took away a trawler of the fishermen and decamped with booties. Later, the pirates demanded ransom over phone addressing themselves as the members of ‘Police Bahini’. They same gangsters also kidnapped an unspecified number of fishermen from the Bay on their way back to their hideout, according to a news agency.