135 fishermen return to West Bengal after over a year in Bangladesh jail

Total 135 fishermen returned to their homes in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas after spending over a year in a Bangladeshi jail, their union said on Sunday.

Due to strong currents in the Bay of Bengal, eight trawlers with these fishermen on board entered the Bangladeshi waters in June last year, it said.

They were intercepted by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and handed over to the local police at Mongla Port in Khulna, said Satinath Patra, the secretary of Sundarban Saamudrik Matsyajibi Sramik Union.

After coordinated efforts at different levels, including the Union Home Ministry, and with the cooperation of the Bangladeshi authorities, they were released from the neighbouring country on October 3, he said.

They reached different ghats of Kakdwip on Thursday, he added.

"We are happy that they could come back to their families finally. These fishermen are residents of different villages in Kakdwip and Namkhana," Patra said.

"Two more trawlers in which 30 fishermen were on board are still in Bangladesh. Efforts are on for their return," he said.