Pirates abduct 5 fishermen, seize trawler in Sundarban

SHARANKHOLA, BAGERHAT, Aug 24: Forest pirates abducted five fishermen and took away a fishing trawler after raiding a group of fishermen who had taken shelter in the Sundarban amid rough weather in the Bay of Bengal.

The incident took place around 8pm on Saturday at Shyalar Char and Narikelbaria areas under the Sharankhola range of the eastern Sundarban.

The abducted fishermen are Jahangir Howlader, 38, Shihab Howlader, 35, Sabbir Howlader, 30, and Ripon Howlader, 28, all from South Rajapur Village in Sharankhola Upazila, and Zakir Howlader, 40, from North Rajapur Village.

The Forest Department and the fishermen’s boat owner could not immediately confirm where the abducted fishermen had been taken or what condition they were in.

Md Mizanur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of the Shyalar Char patrol outpost under the Sharankhola range, said several fishing trawlers had taken shelter in the Kalamiya and Narikelbaria areas of Shyalar Char after leaving the sea due to rough weather.

Around 8pm, armed members of the “Boro Jahangir Bahini” raided the fishermen’s boats, he said.

The pirates held the fishermen at gunpoint and took away three fishermen along with a trawler owned by fish trader Babul Majhi. They abducted two more fishermen from two other trawlers, taking the total number of abductees to five.

Rahman said senior authorities were informed after the abduction.

Babul Majhi, the boat owner of the abducted fishermen, said the pirates had not contacted him since the incident.

“We have not been able to find out where in the forest they have taken the fishermen,” he said, adding that their families were worried after hearing about the abduction.

The Coast Guard’s Western Zone said it was maintaining vigilance over pirate activities in different parts of the Sundarbans.

It said the process of gathering intelligence and conducting an operation to rescue the abducted fishermen was underway.