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For the families of 23 fishermen who were held by Bangladesh information forces, the agelong hold yet seems to beryllium over, with authoritative confirmation of their merchandise connected Tuesday (January 27). Overwhelmed with emotion, fishermen from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal were capable to perceive the voices of their loved ones implicit the telephone aft being released from the Bagherhat District Jail successful Bangladesh.
The radical includes 9 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh and 14 from West Bengal. They had been successful custody since October 2025 aft their sportfishing boats mislaid navigation connected October 21 and drifted inadvertently into Bangladeshi waters, wherever they were intercepted by the Bangladesh coastal security.
“We are safe, we are coming home,” was the connection that echoed crossed telephone lines arsenic the fishermen were moved to Mongla Port nether choky security.
The merchandise followed coordinated efforts by the authorities of some countries. The fishermen are presently staying astatine Mongla Port, wherever their seized boats are being repaired and readied for the instrumentality journey.
Mohammad Hafiz Al Asad, Deputy Secretary successful the Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs, travelled from Dhaka to oversee the merchandise process, sources said. Representing Indian interests, Chandrajeet from the Assistant High Commission of India successful Khulna and Vasupalli Janakiram, president of the East Coast Mechanised Fishing Boat Owners Association, Visakhapatnam, completed the indispensable documentation.
Officials said that contempt the delicate bilateral situation, peculiar attraction was taken to guarantee the payment of the Indian fishermen during their astir three-month detention.
The fishermen are scheduled to beryllium formally handed implicit to India astatine the International Maritime Boundary Line connected January 29, with the Coast Guards of some countries facilitating the process.
Speaking to The Hindu implicit the telephone from Khulna connected Tuesday evening, Mr. Janakiram said the 9 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh were expected to scope Visakhapatnam connected January 31 oregon February 1. He expressed gratitude to the Indian High Commission, territory magistrates and governmental leaders for their efforts successful securing what helium described arsenic a humanitarian victory. He added that the fishermen were presently astatine Mongla Port.
Mr. Janakiram besides said that during his idiosyncratic sojourn to the jail, helium recovered that the fishermen had been provided peculiar attraction and did not look hardships during detention, contempt the complexities successful bilateral relations. He added that the boats seized by the authorities were undergoing insignificant repairs astatine Mongla Port.
