Eleven fishermen returned home on Friday evening after being held hostage for seven days by forest bandits in the Sundarbans and released upon payment of a ransom totaling 700,000 taka. The group had been abducted on the night of May 3 from the Alorkol area of the eastern Sundarbans by the Jahangir gang. Three days later, another bandit group, the Sharif gang, took control of the captives after an armed clash and held them in an undisclosed location.

According to Rubel Hawlader, one of the freed fishermen from Uttar Rajapur village in Sharankhola, the Jahangir gang initially chained them and subjected them to abuse. After receiving the ransom, the Sharif gang released the fishermen early Friday morning near the Aruar River estuary in the Dhansagar area, from where they walked several kilometers to reach home. A local fish trader, requesting anonymity, said the bandits initially demanded 100,000 taka per person but later settled for 70,000 each, totaling 700,000 taka.

Sharankhola Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Shaminul Haque stated that the police had not received any formal complaint regarding the ransom payment but would take legal action if one is filed.