Forest robbers kidnapped some 68 fishermen along with 10 fishing trawlers in the Bay of Bengal and the Sundarbans under Bagerhat and Satkhira districts on Saturday and Sunday.
In Bagerhat, 65 fishermen were kidnapped from the sea and the Sundarbans near Dublar char in the two days.
The abducted fishermen hailed from different areas of Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Barguna and Bhola districts.
The gang members who also looted fish and net worth Tk 1 crore demanded Tk 1 lakh as ransom for each of the fishermen to let them go free unhurt, threatening to kill them if their demand is not met by a week.
Lt Commander M Emdad Ullah, operation department staff officer at Bangladesh Coast Guard West Zone (Mongla), said the armed gangs belonging to the notorious Dasyu Amir, Jahangir and Motuza Bahini carried out mass robbery in 50 trawlers of 500 fishermen in the bay in a stretch from Dublar char to Fare-way buoy.
During the attacks, the bandits threw 12 fishermen into the sea and picked up 65 others along with 10 fishing boats.
As the news spread, panic spread among the families of the fishermen in the southern districts.
Many families were said to be begging to Mohajans (money lenders) to set free the abductees.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard members have launched drives to rescue the abducted fishermen.
They, however, could arrest any robbers or rescue any abductees as of 8 pm.
In Satkhira, another gang of pirates abducted three fishermen from Halde Bunia canal in Satkhira range of the Sundarbans on Saturday afternoon.
Of the victims, two were identified as Keramat Ali, 35, son of Rahmat Ali, Entaj Mollah, 40, son of Kuddus Mollah of Shora village in Shyamnagar upazila .
Akkas Ali, a fisherman and eyewitness to the incident, said a gang of robbers belonging to the infamous ‘Nasir Bahini’ swooped on the fishermen while they were catching fish in the canal.
Later, the robbers kidnapped three fishermen at gun point and demanded Tk 3 lakh as ransom to set them free.
Connected, Aslam Khan, officer-in-charge of Shyamnagar Police Station, said none lodged any written complaint in this connection.
Source: UNBConnect