Although 13 days have already elapsed, 11 fishermen who were abducted for ransom by
forest robbers from the Bay of Bengal near Sharankhola upazila of the district are yet to
be rescued.
Family members of the abducted fishermen are now passing their days amid extreme fear
and anxiety.
They are said to be going to Mohajan (money lenders) to arrange the ransom money
demanded by the robbers to set free the abductees.
M Abul Hossain, president of Sharankhola Upazila Matsyajibi Samity, said they knew
nothing about the whereabouts of the 11 fishermen kidnapped by the forest robbers
belonging to the notorious gangs ‘Shirsha Bahini’ and ‘Jahangir Bahini’.
Anxious families of the victims gather at the Samity (association) office every day to
know whether they could be traced out, he said, adding that they could not gather any
information about the abductees despite making attempts time and again.
Abul Hossain informed that the robbers demanded five lakh taka as ransom for the
release of each of the 11 fishermen.
In the morning of August 15, the robbers swooped on 500 fishermen while fishing
onboard trawlers in the Bay of Bengal near Sharankhola and looted fish worth Tk one
crore, fishing nets and other valuables from their possession.
While leaving, the bandits abducted 50 fishermen, who hail from different areas of
Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Barguna and Bhola, along with four trawlers.
Later, the robbers threatened to kill the kidnapped fishermen unless they were freed
within one week through payment of ransom.
Meanwhile, members of Coast Guard (West Zone) continued drive to rescue the
fishermen.
Coast Guard members on August 23 rescued 13 of the abductees from the den of
notorious ‘Shirsha Bahini’ in the Sundarbans after conducting a drive.
On August 17, four abducted fishermen were also rescued from the Sundarbans under
Koira upazila by the members of Cost Guard following a gunfight between them and
the ‘Shirsha Bahini’ members.
Sources said some kidnapped fishermen have already bought freedom while the 11 from
Sharankhola have remained untraced till now. -UNB, Bagerhat
