At least five law enforcement personnel sustained injuries on Monday morning (Oct 20) after rogue fishermen launched a sudden attack during an anti-illegal fishing drive on the Padma River in Shariatpur's Jajira upazila. The operation, aimed at safeguarding spawning mother hilsa during the ongoing government ban, was personally spearheaded by local Member of Parliament and witnessed a violent backlash involving brickbats thrown by the defiant fishers. Law enforcement agencies subsequently detained 41 fishermen from the scene.
The confrontation erupted in the early hours of Monday (Oct 20) at the Kolikal Char area along the Padma River within Palerchar union of Jajira upazila. Shariatpur-1 (Sadar and Jajira) constituency Member of Parliament Sayeed Ahmed led the coordinated enforcement initiative, maintaining a vantage position on a speedboat alongside fisheries department officials while security personnel closed in on the illicit fishing vessels. Over a grueling four-hour sweep stretching from Shafi Kazir Mor to Palerchar, the joint team also confiscated two lakh meters of banned current nets.
Detailing the incident, Shariatpur District Fisheries Officer Bishwajit Kumar Deb stated that as the enforcement team approached the northern edge of the Padma River at Kolikal Char, a restive mob of more than a hundred organized fishermen armed with sharp weapons and crude staves swarmed the patrol, pelting them with brickbats. The ensuing melee left five security personnel wounded before police and coast guard units counter-charged, successfully encircling and apprehending 41 individuals on the river island.
The nationwide 22-day governmental prohibition on catching, marketing, transporting, and hoarding hilsa runs from October 8 through October 22 to protect breeding populations. Despite authorities distributing 25 kilograms of rice as food assistance to each of the 28,929 hilsa-dependent fishermen among Shariatpur's 33,000 registered cardholders, persistent illicit fishing and open-air markets have flourished across at least 25 riverbank locations throughout the district. In response to the escalating defiance, local MP Sayeed Ahmed reiterated a firm zero-tolerance stance, vowing that all perpetrators engaged in flouting the seasonal sanctuary restrictions will face the full force of the law.
Jajira Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saleh Ahmed confirmed the outbreak of violence following the detentions, noting that police units deployed at the scene were gathering comprehensive details as operations wound down. The latest confrontation follows a similar direct intervention on Sunday (Oct 19) by Chandpur-3 constituency Member of Parliament Sheikh Farid Ahmed, who patrolled the Meghna River on a speedboat to seize illegal nets and issue strict warnings. District fisheries data indicates that authorities have conducted 20 distinct raids over the past ten days, sentencing 72 individuals to varying terms of imprisonment for violating the seasonal hilsa conservation mandate.
