“We had no idea we would fall into a trap.”

Tue 7 Jan 2025 23:17
Last updated: Tuesday, January 7, 2025, 23:27

The captain of FV Layla-2, who was captured along with his crew on December 9 by the Indian Coast Guard, recalls the ordeal

DAWIPAYAN BARUA, Ctg

Tue 7 January 2025 23:17 Last update: Tue 7 January 2025 23:27

Photo: Rajib Raihan

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Photo: Rajib Raihan

“After two hours of thorough search, Indian Coast Guard members disembarked from our trawler and allowed us to sail. About half an hour later they called us back saying they had left some equipment on our boat. We went to them in good faith. We had no idea we would fall into a trap.”

Rajib Chandra Shil, captain of FV Layla-2 – one of two Bangladeshi fishing trawlers that were detained by the Indian Coast Guard last month, reported to the Daily Star this morning on the ordeal

The Bangladesh Coast Guard today handed over 90 Bangladeshi fishermen and sailors to their families at the Coast Guard Jetty in Patenga.

The crew members, detained by the Indian Cost Guard on December 9, were handed over to the Bangladesh Coast Guard by Indian authorities on January 5 during a prison exchange program and were transferred to Chattogram last evening.

After weeks of anxious waiting, family members were finally reunited with the crew. Some couldn’t hold back tears of joy.

On December 9 last year, the Indian Coast Guard detained two trawlers FV Layla-2 and FV Meghna-5 along with 78 fishermen and sailors for allegedly illegal fishing in Indian waters and took them to Paradip port in Odisha, India.

Rajib said an Indian Coast Guard patrol vessel asked them to stop around 7 a.m. that day while they were fishing in Bangladeshi waters at Swatch of No Ground (SoNG), about 30 km from the Dublar Char Islands in the Sundarbans archipelago.

“There is no clear boundary line in the vast sea. We were very close to the Bangladesh maritime border,” Rajib said.

However, he stated that when fishing in this area, trawlers sometimes mistakenly cross the border due to strong currents.

The Indians then boarded his trawler and conducted a thorough search for about two hours before letting them go, the captain said.

The Indians then searched another nearby trawler, FV Megna-5.

“About half an hour later, they instructed the Mghna-5 officer to call us back, saying that they had left some devices here while searching. They also assured us that they would release us later,” Rajib said, adding that they complied with the order.

When they got there, they were captured.

After taking them to Paradip port, the Indian Maritime Police inspected them at its office and then allowed them to return to the trawlers.

“They said no case would be filed against us,” Rajib recalled.

Since then, several Indian Coast Guard officers have been telling them that they will be released only after Bangladeshi authorities release 95 Indian fishermen detained in Bangladesh, the captain alleged.

In early October last year, the Bangladesh Coast Guard and the Bangladesh Navy separately detained six Indian fishing trawlers along with 95 Indian fishermen for illegally fishing in Bangladeshi waters.

According to a Bangladesh Coast Guard official, on September 12, the Indian Coast Guard rescued 12 Bangladeshi fishermen after their fishing boat FV Koushik capsized near the Bangladesh-India International Maritime Line (IMBL). 12 people were detained and taken to Haldia port in Kolkata.

Bangladesh Coast Guard Eastern Zone Commander Captain Zahirul Hoque told reporters yesterday that the exchange of detained fishermen and crew was done under the bilateral agreement between the two countries.

He said 95 Indian fishermen and six boats were handed over to the Indian Coast Guard under the supervision of Bangladesh Coast Guard at IMBL.

At the same time, India donated 90 Bangladeshi fishermen and two fishing boats, he added.

A Coast Guard patrol boat escorted two fishing trawlers from Khulna to Chattogram last evening and this morning the fishermen and crew were handed over to their families, he said.