Fishers in panic over rising robberies

Fishermen from Hatia island in Noakhali are in constant fear of attacks by robbers while fishing in the river and the Bay of Bengal during the peak hilsa harvest season.

On December 2, armed robbers attacked four trawlers in the Bay near Gangaria Char under Hatia upazila, looted goods worth Tk 26 lakh and left at least 20 fishermen injured.

Rasul Ahmed of Subarna Char upazila, owner of three of the trawlers, filed a case with Hatiya Police Station the next day, accusing nine named individuals and 60 unidentified others.

According to the case statement, some 50 to 60 armed robbers led by Main Uddin Majhi attacked Rasul's three trawlers and another owned by Borhan Sikder around 3:00am. The attackers fired shots indiscriminately, hacked and injured 20 fishermen, and looted about 2,000kg hilsa worth Tk 18 lakh, 1,500kg of poa worth Tk 2.25 lakh, four barrels of fuel oil valued at Tk 84,000, 15 mobile phones, and food and nets worth Tk 3 lakh.

Rasul said fishermen are now afraid to venture into the river or the Bay because of the repeated attacks, despite it being the peak hilsa season.

"If the government does not take effective measures against robbers, fishing will soon come to a halt and lead to significant loss in revenue," said Borhan Sikder.

At least five other incidents of similar attacks were reported in the past three months, though no cases were filed.

Main Uddin Majhi, 40, denied the allegations. "I am a boatman on a fishing boat. I had a previous dispute with Rasul Ahmed. He has framed me in this case over that dispute. I am not involved in robbery," he said.

AKM Azmal Huda, officer-in-charge of Hatia Police Station, said the complaint has been forwarded to the River Police for investigation. At least five other incidents of similar attacks were reported in the past three months, though no cases were filed.

Inspector Ashish Chandra Saha, in-charge of the Nalchira River Police outpost in Hatia, said robbers at sea fall under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard, while those within river boundaries are handled by the River Police.

"We have not received any complaints regarding robbery so far," he added.

Bangladesh Coast Guard sources also said they had not received any written or verbal complaints regarding the recent incidents. They said surveillance and vigilance have been strengthened to maintain law and order in coastal regions.