Armed hoodlums invaded a vessel to assault a wildlife cameraman from the America’s Discovery Channel on February 24 after he protested acts of pollution in the Sundarbans.
Mike Herd, the cameraman, and his local assistant were on a vessel, M.V.Chhuti. anchored at the Katka Forest Station, Herd and the vessel owner said.
The incident occurred when a group of seven assailants from the M.V.Royal Gondola, a tourist boat also anchored at-Katka, allegedly boarded the Chhuti carrying automatic pistols and hockey-sticks, and assaulted Herd and his field assistant Rubaiyat Mansur. Herd wa$ filming a documentary on tigers In the Sunderbans.
"At about 5:30 pm. on February 24. a group of seven men led by one Faruk — the owner of the Khulna-based Royal Hotel and Royal Tours and Travels--
boarded our vessel, M.V.Chhuti. brandishing clubs and an automatic pistol. Once aboard, they grabbed my Field Assistant Rubaiyat Mansur by the hair, pulled him downstairs and beat him with the clubs. They then held a gun to his head. Several Chhuti crew members and two Bangladeshi tourists were also beaten trying to stop the violence. Faruk made many threats about killing people and sinking the Chhuti ... He attempted to hit me but was distracted." Herd said in a letter to the British High Commission. A copy of the letter was forwarded to The Daily Star.
Several members of the crew as well as tourists aboard the Chhuti sustained iniuries while attempting to stop, the violence.
This incident appeared to have been prompted by a previous encounter between the Dis-
covery man and Faruk earlier that afternd'qn when Herd, during a routine visit to the filming site, noticed that the M.V.Royal Gondola had been dumping all its garbage into the waters of the Katka canal. Having picked up the mass of empty beer cans floating in the water. Herd and Mansur reportedly took them to Faruk and "in all politeness" requested him not to dump non-disposable waste in the canal.
According to Herd. Faruk took offence at this and boarded the Chhuti within an hour of the incident.
According to Section 23 of the Wildlife Preservation (Amendment) Act of 1974. dumping solid waste-matter in a wildlife sanctuary is a punishable offence. The law also says that it is illegal to carry firearms within a five-mile ra-
dius of a wildlife sanctuary unless the bearer has applied for a permit at the nearest forest station.
During the incident. Herd alleged that the Forest Department officials responsible for security were nowhere nearby.
The forest officer at Katka reportedly contacted the Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) of Shoronkhola Range only later that night and was advised by the latter to provide all possible cooperation to the film crew.
But according to Herd, the ACF’s "all possible cooperation" amounted to a couple of forest guards armed with rifles and faulty ammunition.
This incident was brought to the attention of Chief Conservator of Forests Ghulam Habib. Habib was not available foj-comment.
When contacted at his office in Khulna, owner of Royal Tours Faruk denied even having boarded the Chhuti. alleging that it had been Herd and Mansur who misbehaved with him and his guests - among them "some top military officials." Faruk explained that there had been three other public launches present at Katka on the day and that no one could prove that the beer cans in question were his.
Ahsan Nazir, one of the tourists from the Royal Gondola. however gave a different version, admitting that he had accompanied Faruk when they boarded the Chhuti. and even admitting that there had been some violence. He, however, denied that their group had an automatic pistol.
A government representative who accompanied the film crew throughout their stay in Bangladesh told this correspondent that he approached Faruk on the evening of February 24. demanding an explanation foj his actions.
The representative, reluctant to be named, has in his posses sion a recorded conversation on tape in which Faruk admits to having assaulted the film-crew, and challenges the authorities to try and take action against him.
Having left Katka the very same night, the M.V.Chhuti reached Mongla the following day and. at about 5:00pm. Herd tried to file a case with the Mongla Thana. The Superintendent of Police at Bagherhat was present at the police station but refused to take the complaint or provide an explanation for his refusal.
Reliable sources in Khulna have confirmed that Faruk and his men are backed by a powerful godfather in Khulna. On one occasion a few months ago. Faruk was allegedly caught red-handed while trying to shoot a deer but no action was reported to have been taken.
Herd, a renowned wildlife cameraman, headed back home in Scotland on February 27. a day after he returned to Dhaka from the Sunderbans.
While speaking to this correspondent at the office'of the Daily Star on Friday, Herd admitted to having been in fear for his life as Faruk had allegedly threatened to kill him and sink the M.V.Chhuti.
It was only after Mansur had received severe injuries and had apologised for having "offended" Faruk that the men left on their speedboat, threatening to come back if Herd and Mansur did not pack up and leave, the very same night.
Only days after the Prime Minister s declaration of the Sunderbans as a World Heritage Site, this incident has raised security concerns among environmentalists and tour operators alike.
Tourism in the Sunderbans has in recent times been in high gear.
In a statement, the tourists
on board M.V.Chhuti have appealed to the authorities to make the Sunderbans safer and prevent such terrorist activities In the future.
Herd, visibly shaken by the ordeal, has circulated copies of his statement to all the concerned ministries. The seriousness of thjs offence should not be underestimated." says Herd, adding that "the security of the Sunderbans area has now been compromised by this incident."