14 Indian fishermen arrested for trespassing into Bangladeshi waters

The Bangladesh Navy has detained 14 Indian fishermen and seized their fishing trawler for illegally entering Bangladeshi waters near the fairway buoy in the Bay of Bengal, in violation of Section 24 of the Marine Fisheries Act 2020.

The Navy patrol ship Banouja Bishkhali made the arrest during a routine patrol. Approximately 900 kilograms of fish, including 39 carats of hilsa, were confiscated from the vessel.

The seized fish were auctioned off at 11pm on Sunday near the ferry terminal adjacent to Hotel Pashur, in the presence of Mongla Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Arafat Hossain, Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer Md. Zahidul Islam, police, and intelligence officials. 

The auction fetched Tk 2,44,950, according to Dr. Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Bagerhat District Fisheries Officer.

Anisur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of Mongla Police Station, confirmed that the arrested fishermen, residents of the Kakdwip area in South 24 Parganas, India, were sent to jail following court proceedings on Monday.