Pirates record statements in court
In seven years in jail they can now say some sentences in Hindi
On Monday the statements of 15 pirates were recorded in Sessions Court. They were arrested during antipiracy operations by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard in 2011.
"The statements were recorded under section 313 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc) by the court,” said Ranjeet Sangle, Special Public Prosecutor. Under section 313 of CrPc the accused is given an opportunity to personally explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against him.
The pirates in their statement told the court that they had hijacked 22 Thai and Myanmarese nationals as hostages on their mother vessel 'Prantalay 14', which was intercepted by the Indian Navy on January 28, 2011. They also admitted that they were not carrying any legal documents when they were arrested.
The pirates said they were 25 people in all on the vessel. However, 10 died as the vessel caught fire in the exchange of fire between them and the Indian Navy during rescue operations.
In the six years of living in Mumbai jail, the Somalian pirates have picked up a working knowledge of Hindi to get by in their surroundings. Bon Jhon Ali, a pirate, said the reason few of his compatriots died were because they did not how to swim, “10 logon ko tairna nahin aata tha, paani mein margaya, machvaro ko kuch nahin hua do log ghayal hue. Pura jahaj pe aag lag gaya." (The entire vessel caught fire and 10 people died because they could not swim. Two persons got injured and nothing happened to the fishermen).
They told the court, “The honourable court can have mercy upon us as we have already served a jail term for seven years and have pleaded guilty to our crimes.”
During their recording of statement two accused spoke in court in Hindi while seeking leniency.
“Macchi khane ka aadat hai, jail mein macchi nain milta, mereko sahara nahin hai. Yaha apake jail ka khana hamko pasand nain”, Ali told the court. (We are used to eating fish but we don’t get it in jail. I have no support. I do not like the food served in your jail).
A total of 120 pirates were caught between January and March 2011 and charged under various sections of PC, Arms Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.