Sundarbans pirates abduct 20 fishermen
Bagerhat Correspondent :
As many as 11 days already passed some 20 fishermen who were kidnapped by the jungle pirates from the Bay of Bengal, adjacent to the Eastern Division of Sundarbans under Bagerhat district could not be released till the writing of this report from their (jungle pirates) captivity.
The pirates demanded Tk.3.5 lakh per fisherman (total Tk.70 lakh) as ransom for their release. According to the forest department, in this connection bargaining is going on between the owners of trawlers locally known as Mahajons and the bandits over the rate of ransom.
It may be mentioned here that for fear of the jungle pirate fishing in Bay and the rivers and canals of Sundarbans was suspended for 4 months. Since the last Saturday a few fishermen started fishing in the limited areas of the Bay and Sundarbans risking their life.
Forest department asked them not to go to the deep sea and the deep forest. Dr. Sheikh Faridul Islam, Stat-minister for the Forest, Environment and Change of the Climate Affairs and a patron of “Save the Sundarbans Organization” told, the list of the alleged jungle pirates was updated and started keeping an eye on the identified bandits. The Minister added, the combing operation will be conducted very soon by the joint law enforcing agencies very to arrest the bandits in order to eradicate them from the Sundarbans for good.
It is learnt from the Sundarbans forest department that at the night of February 16 while the fishermen were fishing in the Bay of Bengal the jungle pirates belonging to Jahangir Bahini and Suman Bahini attacked the fishermen and abducted 20 fishermen from 20 fishing trawlers (each one from the each trawler) for realize ransom.
After the incident a great panic was created among the fishermen of Dubla, the biggest fish drying village of the country and consequently, they started to refrain from catching fish from the sea and the rivers and canals of Sundarbans and fish drying activities was suspended for fear of the jungle pirates.
Both the fishermen and fish traders,about 15 thousand in number, are incurring heavy loss for want of fish. They are now in extreme financial crisis. Fish drying terraces now look like deserts for want fish. (Forest Ranger) Milton Roy, Officer-in-charge of Dubla fish drying village Special Patrol Outpost told, Mahajans and dried fish traders are talking with the jungle pirates over a mobile number given at the night of February 20 by the pirates about the rate of ransom of Tk.3.5 lakh per fisherman. But the bandits did not fix the last date for the payment of the ransom.
