The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has yet to get any response from the Myanmar border force regarding the abduction of 18 fishermen from the Bay of Bengal in Teknaf on Tuesday.
“We are still trying to communicate with the Border Guard Police (BGP) of Myanmar, but they haven’t responded to our letter,” said BGB-2 Captain Lt Col Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar on Friday.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Parvez Chowdhury said the authorities met with the victims’ families for financial aid and food. “The BGB officials are trying to bring the fishermen back quickly.”
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The abducted fishermen are Md Ramzan, Md Jamal, Md Jasim, Rashid Islam, Md Faisal, Md Akbar, Nazim Ullah, Md Rafiq, Abu Taher, Md Hossain, Hasmat, Md Sabbir, Md Sultan, Md Ishaq, Abdur Rahman, Nur Kalam, Rezaul Karim and Md Helal – all hailing from Subrang Upazila.
Zohra Khatun, the mother of Sultan and Rashid, said: “We have no one to take care of us. If they do not return soon, we will suffer tremendously,” she told Bangla Tribune.
On Tuesday, the fishermen were returning home after fishing, when they saw a boat sinking near Naikkhyongdia of Teknaf-Saint Martin’s Island route.
The fishermen were confronted by BGP when they salvaged the boat and were preparing to return to the shore. The BGP men abducted the fishermen at gunpoint and took away the fishing trawlers, said Abdus Salam, a member of Surang Union Parishad.
