Cattle theft has risen in Chhatni village of Chhatni union in Natore Sadar upazila, with 25 cattle reported stolen from the village in the past two months. Farmers are staying awake at night to guard their homes, but the thefts go on.

Most recently, on Wednesday 26 April, thieves took four cattle from the cowshed of a farmer named Askan Ali.

He said he had stayed awake for fear of theft and saw the cattle in the shed at about 1am, then fell asleep at about 3am. In the morning none were left: the thieves had broken the lock on the door and taken them. He had two large cows and two calves, worth no less than Tk 3.5 lakh, he said.

Inquiries found that Ansar Ali of the village lost two, Abdur Rahim of Schoolpara two, Kalam of Palpara two, Abul Kashem two, Fajer Ali of the same area two, Abul Hossain of Bhatpara two and Sanowar Hossain of Keshabpur one, among a total of 25 cattle stolen in the past two months. Householders cannot sleep for fear of theft.

Ansar Ali said: "The damage to me is done. Others are in fear too." Many people are keeping their cattle inside the house rather than in outside sheds.

Dulal Sarkar, a Chhatni resident and president of the union Awami League, told Jagonews that villagers are afraid for their cattle. They have informed the police, and villagers caught two suspected thieves and handed them to the police, but nothing has come of it and police have not yet recovered any of the stolen cattle.

Nasim Ahmed, officer-in-charge (OC) of Natore Sadar police station, told Jagonews that police patrols in the Chhatni area have been increased and police are working to identify and arrest those involved.

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