Indian Coast Guard personnel intercepted and detained a Bangladeshi fishing trawler with 29 fishermen on board near Kolkata on Sunday, following an alleged violation of the international maritime boundary. 

The operation was conducted during a routine patrol in the Bay of Bengal, where Coast Guard officers identified a suspicious vessel operating within Indian territorial waters.

Upon approach, the Coast Guard confirmed the trawler’s origin as Bangladeshi and discovered that it had strayed into Indian waters without authorisation. The vessel, along with all 29 crew members, was detained and subsequently escorted to shore for further investigation. Once docked, the trawler and its crew were handed over to the Fraserganj Coastal Police Station in South 24 Parganas district for legal processing.

Preliminary reports suggest that the fishermen, all Bangladeshi nationals, were engaged in fishing when their vessel crossed the maritime boundary line separating the two nations. The breach occurred despite increased vigilance in the Indo‑Bangladesh maritime zone after several similar incidents in past months. 

Authorities are now scrutinising whether the violation was accidental or deliberate, as part of a broader inquiry led by the Sundarbans Police District.

According to police officials, the detained fishermen have been formally arrested and will be presented before the Kakdwip Sub‑divisional Court. The court will hear the matter concerning their remand as investigators seek more information on their incursion and the fishing network’s possible connections to cross-border smuggling or illegal resource extraction.

The incident assumes added significance in light of the recent death of an Indian fisherman in a Bangladeshi jail under mysterious circumstances. That episode raised concerns about the treatment of detained fishermen on both sides of the border and prompted New Delhi to instruct agencies to intensify coastal surveillance and maritime monitoring.

Satinath Patra, the Secretary of the Kakdwip Fishermen’s Union, confirmed the sequence of events and commended the Coast Guard for its swift response.

He noted that the violation of Indian waters by Bangladeshi trawlers has been a recurring issue, often driven by dwindling fish stocks and navigational miscalculations in the shallow, tangled waters of the Bay of Bengal delta.

Authorities acknowledged that such incursions are not uncommon. Similar instances involving Indian trawlers crossing into Bangladeshi waters have also led to the detention of Indian fishermen.

In September, a separate Bangladeshi trawler carrying 13 crew members was apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard under similar circumstances, reinforcing the need for clearer coordination and real-time communication between both nations’ maritime forces.

In response, sea patrols along the Sundarbans and adjoining coastal zones have been strengthened. Surveillance assets, including radar-linked watchposts and maritime reconnaissance units, are maintaining tighter oversight of the international water border.

The latest detention underscores both the growing strain on shared fishing grounds and the delicate balance coastal law enforcement must maintain between safeguarding national sovereignty and mitigating humanitarian fallout from maritime livelihood conflicts.

Based On IANS Report