Fishermen attack MP, officials in Shariatpur; 36 arrested

At least 36 fishermen have been arrested after a group allegedly attacked a lawmaker, local administrators and fisheries officials during a drive to protect mother hilsa in Jajira upazila of Shariatpur on Monday.

The incident took place on the Padma River in the Palerchar area in the morning, when officials were conducting an operation against illegal fishing. Authorities seized around 200,000 metres of illegal monofilament fishing nets and 30 kilogrammes of mother hilsa during the drive.

Those targeted in the attack included Said Ahmed Aslam, a member of parliament for the Shariatpur-1 constituency; Jajira Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Al Imran; and District Fisheries Officer Biswajit Kumar Dev.

According to eyewitnesses and people familiar with the incident, an argument broke out between fishermen and members of the administration and law enforcement agencies during the river operation.

The situation escalated when more than 100 fishermen allegedly attacked the officials with sticks and threw bricks and other objects at them.

Additional law enforcement personnel, including members of the army and police, arrived at the scene to bring the situation under control, causing the fishermen to disperse. Authorities subsequently detained 36 people.

Sources said a government official was also held hostage during the incident and was later rescued by joint forces.

Jajira UNO Al Imran said officials were on the Padma River attempting to control the situation.

“Such undesirable incidents will be dealt with firmly,” he said.

District Fisheries Officer Biswajit Dev said the fishermen hurled bricks and other objects out of fear of arrest during the operation. Authorities subsequently intensified the drive and detained 36 people, he added.

MP Said Ahmed Aslam said he did not consider the incident a personal attack against him. Rather, he believed the fishermen had expressed their anger while attempting to obstruct the government operation.

The authorities seized the illegal nets and mother hilsa as part of efforts to enforce restrictions aimed at protecting spawning hilsa during the breeding season.