Members of Myanmar Navy have picked up 20 fishermen in four boats from the Bay of Bengal while they were fishing near Saint Martin’s Island in Cox’s Bazar. The incident took place in the Sitapahar area of the Bay of Bengal around 11am on Wednesday. The captured fishermen are all residents of Shah Porir Dwip, however, the names and addresses of the fishermen were were not known immediately. Myanmar Navy detained 20 fishermen in four boats owned by Amir Hossain, son of Kabir Majhi, Abul Bashar alias Bailya, son of Mohammad Hossain, Oli Ahmed, son of Maqbool Ahmed, and Amirul Islam, son of Amir Hossain, from Shah Porir Dwip in Sabrang union of Teknaf upazila, said Union Parishad member Mohammad Nurul Amin.
The boat owners called him and informed him about the incident, he added. A spokesman said that the after detaining the fishermen, the members of Myanmar Navy beat them up and took away the fishing nets of three boats. Teknaf Coastguard Lt Commander Abdullah Al Mahmud said the area is under Saint Martin’s Coast Guard. Despite several attempts, Dhaka Tribune was unable to reach Saint Martin’s Coast Guard station over the phone.
Teknaf 2 BGB Commander Lt Col Mohammad Faisal Hasan Khan said the area is under the control of Coast Guard; still they will investigate the matter. However, no one has informed anything about it yet. On November 10, 2020, members of the Border Guard Police (BGP) of Myanmar picked up nine Bangladeshi fishermen from the Naf River in Teknaf upazila, Cox’s Bazar. They were later brought back after 23 days through a flag meeting by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).