Return of Sundarbans bandits?

On November 2018, the government of the day declared the Sundarbans free of bandits who used to rule the forest and would force forest-dependent people including local fishers, wood-cutters (bawalis), honey collectors (moualis) and crab-catchers to pay protection money to continue with their trade. The brigands of the forest were so powerful that the law-enforces who from time to time carried out raids to flush out them from the Sundarbans mostly failed in their missions. For as soon as a raid was over, the robbers would regain their control of the forest. So, the forest-dependent people had to accept the rule of the robbers for survival in the Sundarbans.

Against this backdrop, the then-government hit upon the idea of bringing the robbers back to normal life and assured them amnesty, if they surrendered and laid down their arms. As part of rehabilitation, they were offered jobs/a sum of money to start life afresh. Over 300 of the robbers from some 32 gangs surrendered in response to the government's call and with much fanfare. But has the Sundarbans been rid of the robbers after that surrender event? Not in the least. The fishing community, crab-catchers, the bawalis and moualis, etc., have still to pay protection money on pain of captivity, torture or death. Reports say, some 15,000 fishing families along coastal regions of the Sundarbans are in dire straits under the rule of the forest gangsters who have imposed their so-called 'token system' on them as a condition for their survival. The robbers have meanwhile further extended the scope of their operations. Reports of fishermen being kidnapped, their catches seized at gunpoint and then ransom demanded for their freedom abound. If a victim fails to meet their demand, they are killed and thrown into the river with their legs tied with rope. Of late, tourists and other visitors to the Sundarbans are also becoming their target. Recently, a gang of bandits reportedly kidnapped two tourists and a resort owner from the Kanurkhal area under the Chandpai Range of the Sundarbans. Notably, Chandpai Range is one of the four main administrative divisions of the eastern Sundarbans within its Bangladeshi part. However, a law-enforcement team comprising members of Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG), RAB and police promptly carried out a raid on the robbers' hideout and successfully rescued the abductees. The gang leader and his associates were arrested during the raid. The incident took place on January 8 this month. Obviously, the local forest-dependent communities are not as lucky. So, they continue to suffer and pay toll to remain in their occupation or die. Law-enforcement is not as effective in the case of those hapless locals.

But it is not just holding forest-dependents to ransom, the brigands are also engaged in poaching and trafficking in skins, meat, other body parts of Bengal Tigers, deer and other animals of the mangrove forest. Now, the Sundarbans is no more 'free of the criminal gangs' as declared seven years back. Things are again back to square one. According to recent reports, Royal Bengal Tigers are being regularly caught in nylon or Galvanised Iron (GI) wire snares set on the trails of the big animals like Bengal Tiger in the forest. According to a report, on January 4, Forest Department people and members of the Village Tiger Response team rescued such an ensnared tiger. The spot was deep in the forest in Shorkir Khal in the Chandpai Range of the Sundarbans. Reports based on the local people's view have it that around 100 bandits grouped into 10 to 15 gangs are at present active, especially along the coastal Sundarbans. Some believe turning Sundarbans again into a sanctuary of bandits has taken place with the political changeover following July upsurge. The temporary collapse of law and order might have emboldened some of the former robbers as well as fresh aspirants to stake their claim as rulers of the mangrove forest. But the argument is partially true. In fact, mainstreaming the outlaws is no easy task. Firstly, some of the robbers who tried to return to normal life after the November 2018's amnesty, thanks to the law-enforcement regime, had to regularly appear in court in connection with their previous robbery cases and, thus, spend the entire money the government granted them for their rehabilitation. Others, on the other hand, had to regularly report to the local police stations as they were still under suspicion. So, they could not return to the mainstream even if they wanted to, thanks to the colonial legacy of our law-enforcement regime. So, the situation forced them to return to the dangerous life of an outlaw. But most others among those who surrendered in between 2016 and 2018, have still been trying to live with their families and among their own people despite hardships. But then, how again is the Sundarbans being infested with outlaws? For many, it is, as the maxim goes, old habits die hard-they are hardened criminals. But in some cases, even normal people have been forced into banditry and they blame the police for their misfortune. A boatman in the Sundarbans was reportedly arrested by the police and was falsely charged with being an aider and abettor of robbery. So, it is not surprising how robbers are created out of normal people, while old robbers retain in their profession.

So, both the method of operation and outlook of the law-enforcers towards the population of the coastal people in the pirate-dominated areas of Sundarbans have to change. In truth, it is the locals and robbers who left their old practice know best how and where the pirates and their way of freebooting thrive. The police can take their help in fighting the brigands and establish law and order in the Sundarbans. But that would require taking up a fresh policy by the government to rehabilitate the Sundarbans pirates. At the same time, the government needs to extend a helping hand to the forest-dependent communities so they might be lifted out of their lives of extreme poverty. To be frank, the conditions of the Sundarbans won't ever improve until the government throws a lifeline to the local people.

Since the interim government is at the fag end of its office, the next elected government, hopefully, would take up an extensive and integrated programme to end the rule of the outlaws in the Sundarbans once and for all.

sfalim.ds@gmail.com