A mobile court has sentenced eight fishermen to jail for catching fish in the Tentulia River in Bauphal upazila of Patuakhali in violation of the government ban on hilsa fishing.
Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Saiyed Mahmud Bulbul handed down the sentences at the Bauphal Upazila Fisheries Officer’s office on Sunday.
The fishermen were detained by the fisheries department and river police at different points of the Tentulia River near Chandradwip, Keshabpur, Dhulia and Mathbaria in the upazila late on Saturday night.
The sentenced fishermen were Arif Fakir, 22, Ramiz Paddya, 24, Ismail Khandaker, 25, Firoz Howlader, 50, Karib Khandaker, 40, Elias Fakir, 26, Solaiman Sikder and Jahidul Islam.
Of them, Jahidul Islam was sentenced to one month in prison, while the other seven were given 19 days each.