Fish worth Tk500,000 killed as miscreants poison pond

A fish farmer in Joypurhat's Akkelpur upazila has alleged that unknown individuals poisoned three of his ponds, killing fish worth around Tk 500,000, just days after his family received handwritten death threats.

The incident took place late Thursday night in Harisara Chapagachhi village under Gopinathpur Union.

On Friday morning, fish farmer Kamruzzaman discovered large numbers of dead fish—including rohu, catla, mrigal, silver carp and pangas—floating in the ponds when he went to feed them.

Kamruzzaman said he had leased the three ponds through borrowed money and relied on fish farming as his family's primary source of income. He claimed the poisoning had wiped out fish worth nearly Tk 500,000.

His younger brother, Nuruzzaman, filed a written complaint with Akkelpur Police Station. In the complaint, he alleged that about four months ago their haystack had been set on fire, while around 10 days ago several handwritten notes containing death threats were found pasted on the wall of their house.

One of the notes reportedly read: "Be careful. You have two years left. Because of one mistake, you will die."

Nuruzzaman also said three additional notes were found floating in the pond. According to him, they contained messages such as "We will not spare you anymore" and "You will face the consequences of what you have done." One of the notes also reportedly featured a drawing of a knife.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahin Reza of Akkelpur Police Station confirmed that police had received a complaint alleging fish poisoning. He said the matter is under investigation and necessary legal action will be taken.

Local Union Parishad member Bayozid Hossain said he visited the site and saw dead fish floating in all three ponds. However, he added that it was not possible to determine who was responsible without a proper investigation.