Robberies rising in the Bay

While fishermen in the Bay of Bengal have started to slowly prosper, in spite of frequent depression in the sea, the number of robberies on fishing trawlers has also started rising at an alarming rate.

At least six fishing boats from Cox's Bazar sadar, Moheshkhali and Banshkhali of Chattogram were attacked by the robbers in the last three weeks.

Meanwhile fishermen, who are being looted by these robbers, cannot even file cases as most police stations are unwilling to do so, citing various excuses such as the lack of their jurisdiction.

Two fishing trawlers were robbed 20 nautical miles off the coast of Cox's Bazar in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday afternoon, said Delwar Hossain, secretary of Cox's Bazar Fishing Trawler Owners' Association.

Zaheer Ahmad, 50, a fisherman, was injured when the robbers opened fire on the trawler, he said.

He is now undergoing treatment at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital. Another trawler from Moheshkhali was also robbed on the same day, Delwar added.

In the last week of September, at least four fishing trawlers -- including two from Cox's Bazar Sadar, one from Moheshkhali and one from Banshkhali -- were looted by the robbers, he noted.

"We could not go fishing for a long time due to the ban which was in place till July 23 and later due to rough weather. When the weather became favourable, robberies at sea added another problem to the mix," said Delwar.

He said that robbers from Moheshkahli, Kutubdia, Banshkahli, Pekua and other areas gather in Sonadia dwip and then conduct robberies in the Bay of Bengal. Ring leaders of these gangs -- including Manjur dakat, Monaf, Dulal and some others from Sonadia -- organise these robberies and provided shelter to the robbers.

Abdul Monaf, owner of Malik- 2, the fishing trawler that was recently looted by the robbers, said "Some 20 robbers attacked his boat from behind. Two of them wielded firearms, while others had sharp weapons. They looted fish, nets and even the fuel of the boat amounting to Tk 12 lakhs. While leaving the boat, they damaged the engine of the trawler."

"I didn't file a case as no police station records our cases. They instead harass us by redirecting us to one police station after another," Monaf said.

Delwar and Year Ali, president of Banshkhali Fishing Trawler Owners' Association, echoed the same.

ASM Nizam Uddin, superintendent of Naval Police of Chattogram Range, said they have no recent record of robberies in the Bay of Bengal. No one filed a case about these recent incidents.

He added that they conducted operations against robbers at different times, coordinating with Rab and district police. But the operation has slowed down due to the recent turmoil in the country.

A source from the police said they (police) do not act since the sea is not cited in the area of jurisdiction.