31 Indian detained for fishing in Bangladeshi waters

Detained Indian fishermenUNB

Coast guard members Wednesday detained 31 Indian fishermen for illegally fishing in Bangladesh's territorial waters. Two fishing boats were seized too, reports UNB.

Lieutenant Commander Khandaker Munif Taki, media officer of coast guard, said they found the Indian boats illegally fishing in Bangladeshi waters, 77 nautical miles west of the international maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

Coast guard vessel Mansur Ali conducted the operation and the detainees were handed over to Mongla police station Thursday, Munif said.

To secure their marine resources in the Bay of Bengal, India and Bangladesh settled their maritime boundary in 2014.

However, fishermen from Bangladesh and India continue to commit unlawful forays into each other's sovereign waters, leading to the enforcement of punitive measures against those accused or convicted.

Such incidents not only jeopardise the fishers' livelihoods but repeated occurrences also nettle relations between the two countries.