SHARIATPUR, May 10: Affected fishermen in the district have alleged that river police are extorting money on the Padma River when they go fishing.
The fishermen allege that the naval police of the Mahanpur Naval Police Fari and Chandpur Police Fari in Chandpur District are entering the Shariatpur area and harassing the fishermen. In protest, the fishermen are demonstrating and rallying on the banks of the Padma at Dularchar Launch Ghat in Bhedarganj Upazila.
Due to the extortion by the naval police from Chandpur, the fishermen of Shariatpur cannot fish in the Padma River. If they cannot pay the extortion as demanded by the naval police, the fishermen are seized along with their fishing trawler or boat, and a case is filed.
Fishermen have complained that the naval police of the Mahanpur Naval Police Fari and Chandpur Police Fari are extorting money from the Padma River in the Kanchikata and Dular Char areas of Bhedarganj Upazila and the Sureshwar area of Naria Upazila in Shariatpur. Because of this extortion, fishermen are unable to fish and are sitting idly on the riverbanks with their fishing boats.
According to local fishermen, about 1,000 fishermen in the Dularchar and Kachikata area of Sakhipur and Sureswar of Naria Upazila Police Station earn their living by fishing at various points of the Padma River every day. When the fishermen go to fish, the naval police members of the Mahanpur Naval Police Fari and Chandpur Police Fari of Chandpur district demand extortion starting from Tk 50,000 to Tk 1 lakh from them. If they do not pay, cases are filed against them under various sections.
Fishermen from Dularchar and Charbhaga in Bhedarganj Upazila - Md. Kabir Hossain, Manik Majhi, and Zakir Howlader - complained that the Chandpur District's Mahanpur Naval Police Fari and Chandpur Police Fari's naval police boats come to various points on the Padma River in Kanchikata, Dularchar and Sureshwar areas of Naria Upazila and demand Tk 50,000 to Tk 1 lakh every month. If they do not pay, they seize the fishermen along with their fishing trawlers or boats and file a case.
Sakhipur Thana BNP Joint Convener Md. Sarwar Alam also echoed the same. He addressed the rally organised by the district fishermen's group and general fishermen.
When asked on the mobile phone, the Chandpur District Naval Police Superintendent Syed Mushfikur Rahman denied these allegations. He said that if there is any such allegation, legal action will be taken against the police members accused after investigation.
