The Bangladesh Navy has detained 14 Indian fishermen along with a trawler named FB Shubhojatra for allegedly entering Bangladesh’s maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal and fishing illegally. 

The detainees were brought to the Navy’s Digraj facility at Mongla on Sunday night, following the interception near the Fairway Buoy area, officials said. 

“A significant quantity of fish, including hilsa—about 10 maunds—was recovered and will be auctioned,” said Mongla Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Md Zahidul Islam, noting that the patrol ship involved was BNS Shaheed Akhtaruddin. 

Police said legal proceedings would follow. “A case will be filed on charges of maritime boundary violation and illegal fishing; the 14 will be produced before the Bagerhat court,” said Mongla Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Anisur Rahman. 

The detained fishermen were identified as Chandra Das, Ananda Das, Sadananda Das, Shekhar Das, Subhash Das, Moni Shankar Shikdar, Bipul Das, Gouranga Das, Mrityunjoy Das, Gauranga Halder, Gautam Das, Biswajit Das, Sujan Biswas and Bijoy Das—all residents of South 24 Parganas district in India’s West Bengal state. 

Similar detentions have occurred in the same Fairway Buoy vicinity in recent months amid stepped-up maritime patrols, according to local and national reports. 

SMS/