Indian Coast Guard detains 29 Bangladeshi fishermen

The Indian Coast Guard has detained a trawler along with 29 Bangladeshi fishermen and two boatmen while fishing in the Bay of Bengal. The incident occurred on Saturday, November 15, when the trawler was near the coast of South 24 Parganas, India.

The trawler, named ‘Amenagani’, belongs to Chattogram’s fishery port. Owner Syed Noor stated that the trawler left Dhalghat, Maheshkhali, on November 12 at 10 am for fishing, carrying 29 fishermen and two boatmen. The boatmen later informed via phone that the Indian Coast Guard had detained them.

Syed Noor said that the matter has already been reported to the Department of Fisheries. According to the latest reports, the trawler and detainees are under the custody of South 24 Parganas Coastal Police in India. The reason for the detention is yet to be confirmed.

The detainees include Mohammad Jahangir, Abu Bakr, Ferdous, Syed Ali, Bakhtiar Alam, Shahidullah, Abu Shoaib Noori, Saiful Islam, Tahseen, Sahab Uddin, Tarekul Islam, Minnatul, Mohammad Tarek, Futu Alam, Sajjad, Nesar Ahmad, Salman, Jasim Uddin, Kalu Mia, Mizan, Arafat, Harun, Mithu, Hasan, Parvez, and Tauhid. All are from Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar.

Nesar Ahmad’s wife, Saleha Begum, said, “The last conversation with my husband was on Saturday, November 15, at 7:30 pm. He said he had lost his way in dense fog. Since 9 pm, the phone has been unreachable.”

Chattogram Director of the Department of Fisheries Mohammad Abdus Sattar told Bangla Tribune, “I have heard about the matter. Detailed information about the detained fishermen is being collected.”