https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Fighting Off Pirates in a Nightlong Firefight in Sundarbans

IPS officer Arijit Sinha will soon receive Gallantry Award for his bravery, when he fought off dreaded pirates in Sundarbans in 2016-17. With his team, the officer ambushed the pirates in the middle of a night, followed by heavy firing from both ends. He was successfully able to nab all the pirates in the region.
Indian Masterminds Stories

In what seemed like a blockbuster thriller movie, IPS officer Arijit Sinha led his team of police officers to capture some of the most wanted and dangerous pirates from the Sundarbans, who entered the country from Bangladesh to smuggle arms, kidnap, and commit other such illegal activities. What followed was a nightlong battle and sheer display of valiance by the officer who risked his life to capture the dreaded pirates.

In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Arijit Sinha, IPS, currently posted as the SP of Jhargram, a Maoist insurgency-affected district in West Bengal, talked about that spine-chilling night, and how he carried out the operation with the help of his team.

COLLECTING INPUT

During 2017-18, the officer had four encounters with pirates operating in the Sundarbans zone, an area that has several abandoned islands and a holy riverine area, bordering Bangladesh from where miscreants are known to operate. There is a lot of cargo movement and fishing activities happening in and around the area.

This region is primarily deserted and ungoverned due to the tides, which come in and go out four times every day. It is hard for law enforcement organisations to patrol what consists of dozens of rivers and many tributaries. Smugglers have long used this path to enter India with weapons, ammunition, explosives, and agents, then kidnap defenceless farmers and demand ransom.

“We had been working on a 2015 incident of a fisherman’s kidnapping and the payment of ransom through Hawala routes and had inputs of a gang operating in that area, which led to our first operation in December 2016 at Andharia near Kuntali in Sundarbans,” Mr. Sinha told Indian Masterminds.

PLANNING AN AMBUSH

Once the officer was well-versed with the entire situation and had enough input related to the pirates, the police started preparing for a planned ambush. A team was set up under Mr. Sinha, who was then Baruipur SP. Local police from the Kultoli and Moipith Thana were roped in, too. The team gathered further intel and moved in late Friday night.

“We had input that the pirates were going to attack a fishing trawler, but due to the topography of the region, it was very difficult to pinpoint the exact location from where they were coming from. Therefore, after coordinating all the inputs that we had, we laid an ambush trap at a particular place, ready with weapons, for a potential firefight,” shared the officer.

A NIGHTLONG FIREFIGHT

After around 1 AM at night, Mr. Sinha and his team saw a trawler approaching them. Since the police team had set up nakas in the river itself, the movement of the trawler was challenged. Instead of stopping at the naka, the pirates, sensing danger, started firing indiscriminately at the police teams. Soon, a heavy firefight kicked off in the river, with both the parties extensively firing at each other. One of the bullets also hit Mr. Sinha’s boat but they continued firing.

“It was pitch dark at night and our flashlights and halogen lights could only cover a limited radius. On a riverine terrain, it’s a slightly difficult proposition. All we could see were bullets flying all over the place,” shared Mr. Sinha.

Eventually, the pirates ran out of bullets and got cornered in a creek. The police teams realized what was happening and decided to advance forward. As they moved towards them, the pirates started jumping in the river to escape.

“But we had our people in the river as well, to prevent them from taking a detour. Gradually, we jumped on their boats and were lucky enough to catch them with their weapons. Once the pirates realized that they had been injured and surrounded, they ultimately surrendered,” he told Indian Masterminds.

NABBING THE GUILTY

The police was able to nab seven pirates from the boat, along with their ammunitions. There were no fatalities in the process. After bringing them in, they were interrogated for inputs related to other similar gangs operating in that area. Once they got leads, they worked on it, patched up a bit of technical surveillance, and post that, the officer and his team went out nabbing pirates in three different incidents in Jharkali and Sundarbans coastal region.

In one of the incidents, the pirates narrowly escaped the hands of the police as it was very dark and the team could not properly gauge the line of the pirates’ approach which helped the pirates to jump on the banks of the river and escape.

“However, the next day, we raided the village on the bank and found all of them hidden at one place. Since they were a Bangladeshi gang, they were not thoroughly aware of the terrain and we could easily surround the village and capture them,” he said.

The officer’s bravery resulted in the successful cleaning up of the pirates from the Sundarbans region. According to him, since 2018, there hasn’t been a single complaint filed for fishermen abduction and demand for ransom or attacks on cargo boats and fishing trawlers.

It is noteworthy that Mr. Sinha has also been recommended for the honourable ‘Shaurya Padak’ award for his extraordinary level of undaunted and conspicuous bravery and daring attitude in performing his duty, along with two other officers, Mr. Pradeep Paul, the officer-in-charge of the place and Mr. Lakshmi Biswas from the special operations group.

The officer has a special word of appreciation for his entire team during the operation, without the support of which, he could not have led the operation, he believes.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
NALCO
NALCO Refutes Reports of Capex Deferral, Confirms Rs 30,000 Crore Smelter Expansion is on Track - Know the Matter
Northern-Coalfields-Limited-NCL-Resized
NCL Signs MoU to Support Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities in Singrauli - All Details Inside
Ruchika Chauhan IAS
Leading By Example: Gwalior DC Ruchika Chauhan Arrives At Her Office Boarding An E-Rickshaw! Delivers A Strong Message On World Environment Day
KVIC Khadi and Village Industries
KVIC Disburses Rs. 300 Crore Margin Money Subsidy Under PMEGP to Boost Self-Employment - Details Inside
HUDCO New Logo
HUDCO Champions Green Urban Development on World Environment Day 2025
Mayur Dixit IAS
Who is IAS Mayur Dixit, the New DM of Haridwar? Uttarakhand Bureaucracy in Buzz Amid Land Scam Fallout
Prime Minister’s Museum & Library, Delhi1
IRSME Ashwani Lohani Appointed Director of Prime Minister’s Museum & Library, Delhi - Know More About Him & the Historic Institution
World Environment Day
PSUs Observe World Environment Day 2025 with Strong Commitment to Sustainability and Green Practices - Check Here!
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Monika Singh
Monika Singh’s Life Beyond the Bureaucracy | Video Interview 
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
Modernising Governance: A Digital Transformation in Gangtok
IMG-20250523-WA0036
Abhishek Singh's SECRET: Vipassana, Anthropology & Smart Answer Writing | Video Interview 
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Divyanshu Pal Nagar IFS
5 Years, 5 Mains, 4 Interviews: How Divyanshu Pal Nagar Stumbled in CSE, Triumphed in IFS - A Lesson for Every Aspirant
Divyanshu Pal Nagar’s inspiring five-year UPSC journey shows how perseverance, disciplined self-study,...
ANUBHAV SINGH UPSC IFS 2024
9 Years, 8 Attempts, 7 Failures: How Anubhav Singh Cracked UPSC IFS 2024 with AIR 3 Against All Odds | Exclusive
Anubhav Singh’s inspiring journey to UPSC IFS Rank 3 showcases relentless perseverance, strategic preparation,...
Jogender Sihag
“I Cleared UPSC, But My Grandfather isn’t Here to Hear it,” Jogender Sihag, AIR 521, UPSC CSE 2024
"Life is short; make the most of it, whether in civil service or any other field. Just have a clear vision...
Social Media
Tiger jump Sundarban
Stunning Viral Video Shows Royal Bengal Tiger Making Spectacular 30-Foot Leap Across River in Sunderbans - See It Here
Retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda shared the clip online, which quickly went...
shubham kumar ias marriage
IAS Topper Weds BPSC Topper: Shubham Kumar Marries IRS Officer Priyangi Mehta in Patna; Wedding Video Goes Viral
Topper Couple Alert: Shubham Kumar, Priyangi Mehta’s Wedding Grabs Spotlight in Bihar
parveen kaswan elephant
Elephant Outsmarts Electric Fence! IFS Parveen Kaswan Shares Incredible Video!
In the now-viral 51-second clip, the intelligent giant approaches a wooden pole supporting high-voltage...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
ravindra telang
Ravindra Telang: The Calm Force Behind Sikkim’s Next Leap Forward
NALCO
NALCO Refutes Reports of Capex Deferral, Confirms Rs 30,000 Crore Smelter Expansion is on Track - Know the Matter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Monika Singh
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
IMG-20250523-WA0036
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT