Joint drive yet to rescue 36 abducted fishermen
Thirty-six fishermen kidnapped by Sundarbans robbers near Fairway Buoy of the Bay in Sharankhola upazila early Friday could not be rescued till filing of this report at 2 pm yesterday.
Though the members of Bangladesh Coast Guard of Mongla West Zone and Bangladesh Navy of Mongla have launched a joint drive after the abduction, they could not make any headway in rescuing the fishermen.
Zonal Commander of Coast Guard Mongla West Zone M Saidur Rahman told the wire service that they went into the joint operation in the coastal areas since Friday afternoon.
Over 100 members from the two forces were conducting the drive with two ships and six speed boats, he said, adding that rains and rough sea were hampering the operation.
Saidur said they were carrying out their operation cordoning off the dens of robbers in the Sundarbans.
Police superintendent of Bagerhat Khondakar Rafiqul Islam said they were raiding the houses of relatives of the robbers in Rampal and Sadar upazilas.
“We are interrogating relatives of the robbers to know their whereabouts", he said.
Armed robbers kidnapped the 36 fishermen along with three trawlers and looted valuables worth about Tk 12 lakh near Fairway Buoy in the Bay in Sharankhola upazila early Friday.
Five fishermen were also injured by the attackers.
A gang of 15/20 belonging to notorious 'Mortoza Bahini' attacked over 100 fishermen when they were catching hilsa in 10 trawlers.
Later they demanded a ransom of Tk 50,000 for release of each of the 36 fishermen.
They also threatened to kill the fishermen if their demand is not met within a week.
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