Coast Guard apprehends 28 Bangladeshi fishermen

Kolkata, Nov 20 (PTI) The Coast Guard has apprehended 28 Bangladeshi fishermen from inside Indian waters on the Bay of Bengal, a police officer said on Thursday.

With this, the total number of fishermen from the neighbouring country arrested by the Coast Guard in a week has risen to 107, he said.

The 28 Bangladeshi fishermen, who were apprehended on Wednesday night, were brought to the Narayanpur fishing harbour and handed over to Kakdwip police station in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, the officer said.

The Coast Guard had on Sunday seized three Bangladeshi fishing boats and apprehended 79 crew members, including three minors, from within Indian waters for illegal fishing, officials said.

The police are trying to determine whether the arrested people were engaged in fishing or trying to enter India illegally through the sea route, they said.

During surveillance, the Bangladeshi fishing boats were detected operating inside Indian waters, in violation of the Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels) Act, 1981, the officials said.

The three Bangladeshi fishing boats and 79 crew members apprehended earlier were handed over to the marine police at Frazerganj in South 24 Parganas for further legal proceedings, they added. PTI CORR AMR RBT