Kolkata, 17 December (H.S.)

The bodies of two of the five fishermen who went missing after an attack by the Bangladeshi navy have been recovered. The trawler, which sank in the Bay of Bengal, was located on Tuesday and was being towed ashore by other trawlers. The two bodies were recovered from the same trawler.

The deceased have been identified as Sanjeev Das and Ranjan Das. Sanjeev Das was from Paschim Gangadharpur in Kakdwip, while Ranjan Das was from Durajpur in Purba Bardhaman's Purba Khali. The families of the deceased have been informed. The search for the remaining three is ongoing.

As per information, the sunken trawler was brought to the Mainapara dock in Kakdwip early Wednesday morning. After the water was pumped out of the trawler, the two bodies were recovered from inside the engine room. The recovery of the bodies was reported to Kakdwip police station, and the police have sent the bodies for post-mortem.

Notably, a Bangladeshi naval vessel entered Indian territorial waters and collided with a trawler belonging to fishermen from Kakdwip. In this incident, 11 fishermen managed to escape, while five went missing.

Initially, the incident was considered an accident, but the fishermen alleged that they were attacked with spears.

Fisherman Saifuddin Sheikh alleged, When the Bangladeshi naval vessel came very close to the trawler, spears were thrown at us from that ship. Rajdul Ali Sheikh, a fisherman standing at the front of the trawler, was hit by a spear. He fell into the water, bleeding profusely, and went missing.

Following this incident, questions are being raised about how the Bangladeshi navy could enter Indian territorial waters and why this attack was carried out. Hopes of finding the three missing fishermen alive are gradually diminishing.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey