Bodies of three fish poachers recovered from Netrokona river

Police believe they tried to swim across the river in an attempt to flee during clashes over fish looting on government-leased water bodies

Police have recovered the bodies of three fish poachers from a Netrokona river two days after they were reported missing.

The bodies were pulled out from Dhanu River’s Ashalia Ghat around 2:45pm on Monday, said Khaliajuri police chief Makbul Hossain.

Two of the bodies were identified as Shaheed Mia of Atpara Upazila and Hridoy Mia of Kendua Upazila.

On Saturday, thousands of people gathered on the banks of the Dhanu River, arriving in over a hundred vehicles armed with fishing equipment and makeshift weapons.

They sought to loot fish from two government-leased water bodies, Kathaljan and Moragang. However, local residents resisted, leading to clashes.

At Rasulpur ferry terminal, agitated crowds vandalised over a hundred vehicles and set some on fire.

Around 50 people from both sides suffered injuries.

The Upazila administration, law-enforcing agencies, and army personnel eventually brought the situation under control.

Officer Makbul said: “It’s being assumed that those three tried to swim across the river on Saturday, but drowned when they failed to do so.”

He said legal measures would be taken over the incident.