There was an exchange of fire between INS Cankarso and the pirate vessel, following which fire was noticed in 'Prantalay' and some personnel were seen jumping into the waters.
Twenty Thai and Myanmarese fishermen, the original crew of the vessel, who had been held hostage by the pirates held hostage for over 8 months and 15 pirates, were pulled out from the waters by INS Cankarso. INS Kalpeni, CGS Sankalp, Naval and Coast Guard ships and aircraft are presently in the area searching for any fishermen or pirates, the release said.
The arrested pirated will be brought to Mumbai for questioning. A committee of secretaries led by the Cabinet secretary is likely to meet on Tuesday to evolve guidelines to deal with the situation. There is no set procedure or international law yet to try pirates. India is waiting to see how South Korea and Malaysia deal with those they have recently arrested. German and Norwegian attempts to prosecute pirates in the past have failed.
