Sixteen Bangladeshi fishermen, most of them from Lakshmipur and Noakhali, have been detained by the Myanmar Coast Guard in the Bay of Bengal, triggering concern among families and prompting local authorities to initiate efforts for their release.

The fishermen were reportedly picked up on 23 March while fishing at sea, according to relatives and the owner of the trawler. Contact with the crew was lost a day later, raising alarm among family members. A general diary (GD) was subsequently filed at Moheshkhali Police Station in Cox’s Bazar on 28 March.

According to The Business Standard, the trawler owner has submitted separate applications to the Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner and superintendent of police, seeking official intervention to bring the detained fishermen back home.

Trawler owner Mizanur Rahman, a resident of Moheshkhali, said the vessel had departed for the Bay of Bengal on the morning of 23 March with 16 fishermen and crew on board. He later learned from other fishermen that the Myanmar Coast Guard intercepted the trawler, allegedly within Bangladesh’s maritime boundary, and took the crew away.

He added that the detainees are currently being held at Akyab (Sittwe) Police Station No. 1 in Myanmar.

Among those detained are nine fishermen from Ramgati and one from Kamalnagar in Lakshmipur, along with three from the neighboring Noakhali district. The remaining three individuals are from Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, and Bhola districts.

Family members say they last communicated with the fishermen several days ago. Rozina Akhter, wife of one of the detainees, said her husband had called to inform her that their trawler had been seized by Myanmar authorities.

BOB Post