In the forests of Sundarbans, there is no time to rest. Less so for law enforcers who once successfully rid the forest of pirates and bandits, only for the scourge to return this year.
The series of operations which helped declare the Sundarbans pirate-free in 2022 was considered a milestone.
But by 2024, some pirates had regrouped, with sporadic incidents of crime being reported.
But the latest intelligence information and the results of the Coast Guard's operation have once again raised unease.
Currently, at least five pirate groups have become active again in the Sundarbans, prowling the jungle with both domestic- and foreign-made weapons, according to Coast Guard (West Zone) Lieutenant Commander Md Ashiqur Rahman, operations officer of the Coast Guard West Zone.
The groups have been identified as Karim Sharif Bahini, Doyal Bahini, Dulabhai Bahini, Mama-Bhagina Bahini and Kajol-Roni Bahini.
Their members are said to have set up bases in different parts of the forest.
Meanwhile, in the past six months, 30 pirates from different groups have been arrested in Coast Guard operations. During the operations, 22 firearms, 308 rounds of bullets and more than 60 indigenous weapons and weapon-making materials have been recovered.
In the same period, 33 fishermen and women have been kidnapped for ransom and rescued by the Coast Guard.
But the deterrences are now doing little.
The pirate kingdom's undoing
Sundarbans was once the kingdom of bandits and pirates. According to forest department and police sources, the reign of terror could be felt in every inch of the swamp, snaking its way through each canal.
Fishermen, locals and even forest guards remained gripped in fear.
That's when a special task force formed in 2012 under RAB led a contentious crackdown.
From 2012 to 2018, 135 pirates were killed in 223 campaigns, and more than 500 people were arrested.
The surrender campaign began when the Master Bahini capitulated back on 31 May, 2016.
It was the end of an era: the Master Bahini was then the largest pirate band in the area. Amid the crossfires and raids, the pirate leader Mostafa Sheikh decided it was better to give up arms than die.
He contacted journalist Mohsin Ul Hakim, who he had known for a while, and said it was time to live a normal life.
Following his surrender, 324 members of 32 pirate gangs also gave up arms.
On 1 November, 2018, then prime minister Sheikh Hasina declared the Sundarbans "pirate free".
Since then, the government had taken various initiatives to rehabilitate the surrendered pirates.
Each of 324 families was provided with financial assistance of Tk1 lakh, alongside shops, cows, clothes, etc.
But then, it all began to unravel.
Battened hatches again
Md Jalal Hossain, general secretary of the National Fishermen's Association in Mongla Upazila, recalls the peace after the pirates surrendered.
But now, things are very different.
"The fishermen were at peace. Since 2025, this is no longer the case. New pirate groups have emerged. Fishermen in the area are back to living in fear."
Recently, a fisherman from Chandpia union was abducted while deep at sea.
His family were forced to pay Tk 3 lakh for his release, selling everything they had.
The fisherman has been returned to his family, but now his family faces a life of destitution.
He isn't the only one.
Chitta Mandal, a fisherman living in the area adjacent to Chila Bazar in Mongla, said, "This season, I went to Dubla in the Sundarbans to fish. But a few days before the end of the season, pirates captured some of our fishermen and took the ransom. After that, I was in fear for the few days I was in Dubla."
Speaking to Dhaka Stream, senior journalist Mohsin-ul-Hakim, the man behind the biggest pirate surrender in the region, said, "It is not possible to completely free the Sundarbans from pirates. One of the reasons for this is that the patrons and arms suppliers of the groups have not been identified."
He said had the crackdown been from the very top, then there would be a real impact.
He also mentioned 5 August, 2024, when many attacks were carried out on prisons and police stations, freeing a number of pirates imprisoned during the RAB action.
Since then, they have taken advantage of the trimmed-down number of law enforcers.
Lieutenant Commander Md Ashiqur Rahman, operations officer of the Coast Guard West Zone, said in addition to stopping the activities of these groups, the Coast Guard is conducting regular operations to eliminate pirates, he added.
While Coast Guard operations continue, the fear remains constant. The pirates are back. What will it take this time around, locals wonder.
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