The Bangladesh Navy has detained 31 Indian fishermen, along with two fishing trawlers, for illegally entering the country's waters during the ongoing 22-day fishing ban aimed at protecting marine resources, reports The Business Standard.
At a a press briefing at Payra Port on Wednesday, Lt Md Mosiul Islam, commanding officer of BNS Shaheed Akhtar Uddin, said that the foreign vessels were detected on radar and captured after a chase.
He said during routine patrolling on 14 October, the Bangladesh Navy ship BNS Shaheed Akhtar Uddin detected suspicious trawlers on radar.
Upon analysing the data, the vessels were identified as foreign-flagged fishing trawlers.
When the trawlers attempted to flee, BNS Shaheed Akhtar Uddin pursued and detained them within Bangladesh's maritime boundary.
Both vessels were Indian-flagged, carrying a total of 31 Indian nationals. Those were taken to Patuakhali, and the trawlers and fishermen were handed over to Kolapara police for legal action.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
