11 fishermen missing at sea for four months, families fear abduction

Eleven fishermen went missing after leaving Chattogram's Fishery Ghat on 6 December to fish in the sea, and after four months without contact, a kidnapping case has been filed while police investigate multiple possibilities.

Mohammad Alamgir (54), a fisherman for over a decade, left with 10 others on the trawler "F/V Sharifa-2" from the old Fishery Ghat under Kotwali police station around 4:30pm that day. Since then, their families have had no information about their whereabouts.

Relatives said the fishermen usually remain reachable by phone for several hours after departure, but all mobile phones were switched off right after they sailed. The families now fear they may have died in an accident, drifted into foreign waters and been detained, or been abducted.

After searching in various ways for four months, Alamgir's daughter Jesmin Begum filed a case on 13 April with the Kotwali police station, accusing the fishermen's abduction. The case names four accused, including trawler owner Moin Uddin alias Nahid Company, and 4-5 unidentified individuals.

The complaint alleges a prior dispute between Alamgir and the owner and claims the accused failed to take effective steps to trace the fishermen, instead misleading families with conflicting information. 

The complaint also stated that on 9 April evening, one of the main accused threatened her over the phone, warning that they would take legal action that would lead to a case against her father for taking the trawler.

Jesmin told TBS, "We are living an inhumane life after losing my father. Usually we could talk to him for 4-5 hours after departure, but this time we could never reach him." She said families of the other 10 fishermen are in the same condition.

The missing include residents of Chattogram, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, and Cumilla; among them are Mohammad Mamun (32), two men named Mohammad Azad (41 and 27), Imam Uddin Hossain (28), Rubel (33), Tashir Ahmed (43), Milan Mia (44), Fazle Elahi (24), Salauddin, and Ismail (47).

Kotwali police officer-in-charge Aftab Uddin said, "A case has been filed on abduction charges. The matter is being investigated seriously. We are also checking whether they crossed into Myanmar waters and were detained."

The case was later transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of Chattogram Metropolitan Police. DB Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Shariful Islam said the main accused was arrested on 15 April and sent to jail after questioning through court.

"We have confirmed that 11 fishermen went to sea together. Now we are investigating multiple angles to determine their location, including checking fishing logs, interviewing other fishermen, and analysing satellite imagery of the area