Bangladesh under interim chief Muhammad Yunus has descended into lawlessness after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. With increasing attack on minorities like Hindus, now a separate danger has risen its head, a problem that was successfully curbed by the previous democratically elected government. That new danger is the Pirates of Sundarbans.
In the twisting rivers of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest between Bangladesh and India, pirates have resumed their terror. A little over a year after students ousted the Sheikh Hasina’s government in July 2024, pirate gangs are returning. Fishermen, honey collectors, and crab farmers now facing attacks, kidnaps, and demands for money. Gunshots can be heard again in the foggy islands. The peace that Hasina’s government created is breaking in the UNESCO world heritage site.
The trouble started quietly after Hasina left power on August 5, 2024. She fled to India after 15 years as prime minister of Bangladesh. The massive violence that preceded and followed the fall of the government meant that the entire police force was busy with controlling violence and riots.
While the violence has reduced now, sporadic incidents do take place now and then. Moreover, the new temporary government, led by Muhammad Yunus, is busy with big changes across the country, including preparing for the election and making changes to the constitution as demanded by the protestors.
This has left the far-away Sundarbans with less police protection. As a result, at least 20 pirate groups, such as Dulabhai Bahini and Jahangir Bahini, are now active again in the south and centre of the forest. These groups include old pirates who had returned to mainstream, escaped prisoners, and jobless locals.
As per Bangladeshi media reports, areas in the Sharankhola and Chandpai ranges of the Eastern Forest Division of Sundarbans have reported regular activities of pirate gangs. The violence is so extreme that now fishermen, foresters and traders don’t even dare to move out of their villagers for work.
In the past month, bandits have kidnapped more than a hundred fishermen in the Sundarbans and extorted ransom in exchange for their return. In the last one year, over 300 people were kidnapped and tortured by the pirates. Most of the hostages returned after secretly paying ransom.
Locals say that many fishermen and others are still being held hostage by various forces. Pirates are more active in various areas of the Sharankhola range of the eastern Sundarbans, including Mara Bhola, Ali Banda, Dhanche Bariya, Tetul Bariya, Tiar Char, Andharmanik, Pashur, and Shibsha.
People who witnessed the attacks narrate the scary stories. In late September, 20 fishermen from Satkhira disappeared near the Jamuna River. They were freed only after paying 500,000 taka to men with guns. “They came like ghosts from the past,” said villager Abdul Karim. “We thought pirates were gone for good. Now no one goes deep into the forest without fear,” he said.
Similarly, honey collectors in Bagerhat are stopped and forced to pay “fees.” Crab sellers in Khulna get threats. Prices of such products are going up, and people are losing work. Villages are forced pay weekly ‘protection money’ to stay safe.
These pirate groups control secret paths for smuggling fish, wood, drugs, and fake items. At least five big gangs are moving with guns. They feel fearless because the new government is focused on other problems and have largely stopped caring about the region.
According to sources from the Forest Department, fishermen and businessmen, bandits are forming groups under different names and carrying out criminal activities. These groups are formed by people involved in various crimes who had surrendered earlier and those who were convicted in various cases. Among these groups, Jahangir Bahini, Manjur Bahini, Dada Bhai Bahini are the most dangerous ones in terms of weapons and number of members. Members of these three groups had surrendered earlier and returned to normal life. In addition, some other notable pirate ganges are Karim-Sharif Bahini, Asadur Bahini, Dayal Bahini, Robi Bahini, Dulabhai Bahini, Ranga Bahini, Suman Bahini, Anwarul Bahini, Hannan Bahini and Alif Bahini.
As per local officials, influential people in the areas adjacent to the forests are acting as intermediaries and sources for the bandits. They secretly communicate with the families of kidnapped fishermen and their moneylenders, collect ransom money and deliver it to the pirate gangs. Various bandit forces are also giving tokens with their respective symbols to the fishermen, in exchange of ‘protection money’. If such pirate tokens are on the boat, fishing can be done safely in the forest.
Fishermen are required to pay a ransom of 20,000 to 30,000 taka per boat if they are sent to the forest. In the event of kidnapping, a ransom of 50,000 to 3,00,000 taka is required. The fishermen who are unable to pay this ‘fee’ have stopped going to the forest for fishing. If anyone is caught fishing without tokens, they are kidnapped, and are forced to pay much higher ransom.
Several fish traders in Sharankhola, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that it is not safe to speak out against the goons. Representatives or sources of the gangs roam around the fishermen’s fish stalls near the forest. If they find out about the leak of information, they will torture the fishermen later and the extortion amount will increase. For this reason, none of the fishermen or moneylenders are speaking out against them.
Lieutenant Commander Abrar Hasan, Staff Officer of the Coast Guard Mongla West Zone, told the media that the trouble of pirate gangs bandits in the Sundarbans has started since fall of Hasina government in August last year. The Coast Guard has been conducting operations in the in different areas of the Sundarbans, but with limited success. Only around 40 pirates have been arrested so far. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition have been recovered from the arrested people. Local administration officials admitted that they are not equipped enough to fight the pirates.
Notably, while piracy was an issue in the Sundarbans earlier, it had disappeared completely. But the July revolution and the regime change at Dhaka paved the way for return of the Pirates of Sundarbans. As police and security forces were diverted to more pressing issues, the hard-to-reach areas in the world’s largest delta were left largely without any security.
For years, the Sundarbans was a hideout for armed gangs. They kidnapped people, killed for money, and hunted tigers. In the early 2000s, over 100 groups caused hundreds of deaths each year and hurt the fishing business.
Starting in 2012, Hasina’s government fought back with force and help. A special task force formed in 2012 under RAB (Rapid Action Battalion), and then there was massive crackdown on the criminals. Police, navy, and coast guard teams hunted the gangs. Local leaders and reporters helped make peace.
After that, the government launched the most important part of the plan, an “amnesty program.” Pirates who gave up their guns got money, training for new jobs like fish farming or bee-keeping, and small loans.
The plan worked well. On November 1, 2018, PM Hasina said the Sundarbans was free of pirates. Over 1,500 men from 32 groups gave up weapons and violence. “They answered our call to stop,” she said. Attacks dropped 90 percent by 2019. Tiger hunting fell. Former pirates started various occupations with government’s help and started normal lives. For example, Mostafa Sheikh, leader of Master Bahini, the most notorious pirate gang that controlled he entire southern coastline of Bangladesh, opened a bike garage.
From 2018 to 2024, Sundarbans was pirate-free. But exit of Sheikh Hasina government resulted in the return of the pirate gangs. Many of the gangs are formed by former pirates who had surrendered. For example, while Ilias Bahini’s head Ilias has died, his brother-in-law Rabiul formed a new gang. Locals have called it ‘Dulabhai Bahini’, which literally means (brother-in-law gang).
Large number of prisoners were freed by students during the July revolution, and many such former inmates have also joined or formed such gangs.
Before the 2018 surrender, the pirate gangs only operated in waters, targeting fishermen and traders. But after their re-emergence, they have started coming ashore also.
The interim government has promised action. In October, Md. Yunus started a special team with 500 guards and local helpers. But many doubt it will work. Sheikh Hasina succeeded in solving the menace because she mixed punishment with reward, she offered good incentive to pirates to return to normalcy.
For now, terror rules the pristine forests of Sundarbans. The terror of pirates means more than just crime, it shows how fast safety can disappear after a regime change.