13 Bangladeshi fishermen arrested in Bengal's Sunderbans area, boat seized

Kolkata, Sep 18 (IANS) At least 13 Bangladeshi fishermen were apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard and their fishing trawler seized after entering Indian waters without authorisation in the Sundarbans area in West Bengal.

The arrests were earlier this week, and the fishermen have been handed over to the state coast police authorities.

Following this, the coastal security agencies, both central and state, have beefed up patrolling and surveillance along the coastal border with Bangladesh, especially in the sensitive Sundarbans area scattered over South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts.

Calling it a swift 'Mission Maritime Security' operation, the Indian Coast Guard in a post on X on Thursday said, "Apprehended one Bangladeshi fishing boat for illegal fishing activities in Indian waters. The boat has been handed over to Marine Police, Frazerganj for legal proceedings. The apprehension reflects the ICG’s unwavering commitment towards safeguarding India’s maritime borders."

Now sources from the state police station said that in the wake of the development, patrolling and surveillance activities have been increased in the coastal areas of Sundarbans, both by the central agencies like the Indian Coast Guard and Border Security Force, as well as by the state agencies like coastal police stations under the state police.

All these agencies need greater coordination between them for better surveillance. Sources aware of the development said that especially under focus are the narrow creeks in between the remote islands in the area, which are often used by the illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators for crossing the international waters.

Security agencies, central and state, have recently identified some of these islands. The most vulnerable islands identified on this count are the 13 in the Gosaba block in the district, considering the lack of security arrangements there because of the remote nature of such islands.

As per reports, the Border Security Force (BSF) has its camp in just one of these 13 islands, which are often used as temporary shelters by the fishermen from the district, frequently venturing to the deep seas for the purpose of fishing.

It is learnt that the 13 Bangladeshi fishermen arrested this week are residents of Purba Chandipur in Bagerhat district of Bangladesh. Some of them are from Pirojpur and Zianagar. The Bangladeshis will be produced before the Kakdwip Subdistrict Court on Thursday. The police will seek their custody to investigate further into the case.

Due to the porous and riverine international border between India and Bangladesh, the Bangladeshi boats and trawlers often venture into Indian waters. However, both the central and state police are keeping a close watch on the movement of such fishing boats.

--IANS

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