Miscreants allegedly destroy fishing nets worth Tk7 lakh in Jashore, threaten to kill minority fishermen

A group of people allegedly destroyed fishing nets worth Tk7 lakh of the fishermen of the Hindu community in a village in Jashore and threatened to kill them if they did not pay money.

The incident took place in Ballavpur village of Sukhpukuria union in Chougachha upazila today (21 June).

"Some people in the village have become reckless under the leadership of a Union Parishad member who lost in the UP elections. They have been demanding huge sums of money from us at different times," said Ballavpur Fishermen's Cooperative Society General Secretary Tarak Kumar Biswas. 

Fearing that miscreants may attack the fishermen, Tarak Kumar Biswas filed a general diary (GD) with Chouagachha Police Station on 20 June.

"About 40-50 people charged the fishermen with locally made weapons when they were preparing for fishing in the Baor this morning. They threatened to kill us if we went fishing without paying them crores of taka," Biswas said.

The matter was immediately informed to the Chouagchha Police Station and the officials of the upazila administration.

"Before the police reached the spot, the miscreants cut and destroyed the nets worth about Tk7 lakh," Biswas added.

Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Chougachha Police Station, said, "When the fishermen, who are currently leaseholders of the Baor, went fishing this morning, another party came and the situation became intense. The police immediately went to the spot. The situation in the area is normal now."

When contacted, Chougachha Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sushmita Saha said both parties will be called to the administration office to resolve the issue.