In view of incidents wherein 91 Indian crew members had been held hostage over last three years by Somali pirates, the government has firmed up a contingency plan for dealing with piracy and hijacking of merchant ships, Parliament was informed today.

It has constituted a Committee of Secretaries on Anti- Piracy and Hijacking at sea (COSAPH) under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary for crisis management and to advise the government on major policy and strategy decisions.

According to an official data, 91 people had been held hostage by the Somali pirates of which 89 have been released.

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