Chaos and looting broke out over seized jatka (juvenile hilsa) at the Barishal divisional Department of Fisheries office compound. Four Ansar members on duty tried but failed to bring the situation under control.

At around 10pm on Friday (7 November), hundreds of people entered the office compound and made off with the seized jatka.

Inquiries found that while the seized jatka was being distributed in front of the fisheries office, fisheries officials were accused of setting cartons aside and handing out only a little fish. This led to an uproar, and at one point an agitated crowd spent more than an hour looting the jatka. With crowds of men and women, the area went completely out of control.

Several women who witnessed the incident said the officials had cheated. They kept cartons full of fish, put a small amount out in front and opened the gate. They also gave sacks full of jatka to people from several madrasas, while poor people who stood waiting got nothing.

A witness named Idris Howlader said: "There were 10 to 12 cartons of fish. But when the gate was opened to distribute one carton's worth, the free-for-all began. The Ansar members could not stop it despite trying."

Barishal district fisheries officer Ripon Kanti Ghosh said some fish had been looted during the distribution among the needy, and that four Ansar members were on duty there. He denied the allegation that staff had set fish aside.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.