Forest robbers have kidnapped 10 fishermen from the Satkhira Range of the West Sundarbans and demanded a ransom of Tk1 lakh for each captive, according to relatives and fishermen who escaped from the abductors.
The abductions took place between Friday evening and Sunday morning in the Notabeki, Agunjwala, Joldhaka, Chaltebere and Raymangal river areas inside the Sundarbans.
The abducted fishermen are Rubel, Imran and Khorshed from Dumuria village; Nuruzzaman from Chhotovetkhali village; Siddique Gazi and Johor Ali from Kalinchi village; Surat Ali from Singharatali village in Shyamnagar upazila; and Momin Moral, Didarul and Imran from Koyra upazila in Khulna.
Relatives of the abductees and several fishermen who returned after escaping the bandits said, on condition of anonymity, that each boat carried three fishermen, one of whom was taken away.
They alleged that the kidnappings were carried out by two forest bandit groups operating under the names of gangs led by Amir Ali of Gabura Union and Alam Sana of Datinakhali village in Shyamnagar upazila.
The abductors have demanded Tk1 lakh for each fisherman, including Nuruzzaman, Didarul and Imran, they said.
Shahinur Islam, assistant conservator of forests of the Sundarbans Satkhira Range, said they had learnt about the abductions of several fishermen from other fishermen.
A Forest Department patrol team is conducting an operation inside the Sundarbans, he said, adding that carrying out operations against bandits in such a vast forest was difficult for the department alone.
Safiul Islam Patwary, officer-in-charge of Shyamnagar Police Station, said families of fishermen held hostage by forest bandits usually negotiate with the abductors secretly.
As a result, fishermen who return after being released are often reluctant to share information with law enforcement agencies, he said.
Police are, however, trying to identify and arrest those involved by tracing the owner of the mobile phone number used to collect the ransom, the OC added.
