A daring daytime piracy attack on the Brahmaputra River in Gaibandha’s Fulchhari sub-district has left microfinance officials and river commuters traumatised after masked gunmen looted nearly 800,000 taka in micro-credit collections. The armed raid, which targeted a traditional wooden commuter ferry (known locally as a kheya boat), took place in broad daylight on Thursday, 9 July, as the vessel navigated an isolated stretch of water between local river islands.
According to eyewitness testimonies and police statements collated on Thursday evening, the boat set off from the Kabilpur river-island market in the Fazlupur union at approximately 3:00 pm, carrying a dozen passengers towards the Katatara ghat in the Uriya union. Roughly half an hour into the voyage, a smaller, highly manoeuvrable speed vessel carrying six to seven pirates intercepted the slow-moving commuter ferry.
Two to three masked attackers jumped aboard the passenger boat brandishing pistols and heavy, curved local blades known as ramda. To prevent any chance of evasion or pursuit, the attackers immediately disabled the ferry by severing its fuel lines and tossing the engine’s steering handle directly into the river. Meanwhile, their accomplices remained on the smaller vessel, keeping firearms pointed at the terrified passengers to deter resistance.
The primary targets of the assault were two officials from BRAC, one of the world’s largest non-governmental development organisations, which runs extensive micro-credit and poverty-alleviation programmes across Bangladesh’s remote river basins. Niranjan Chandra Roy, an assistant branch manager, and Rakib Hasan, a community development officer, were travelling with 779,080 taka collected during morning loan-repayment sessions. The duo was transporting the funds to a mainland bank for deposit while four other colleagues remained behind on the island to conclude the month’s financial collections. The pirates held the microfinance officers at gunpoint, seizing the entire cash amount alongside their personal belongings.
Beyond the substantial corporate theft, the raiders systematically plundered the remaining passengers, who were largely rural traders and residents. The boatman, Sayedur Rahman, was robbed of his daily fare collection, while a local pesticide businessman, Aiyub Ali, recounted the intense panic onboard when confronted with multiple firearms. The pirates snatched handbags from three women, two expensive smartphones, and a separate cash sum of 10,000 taka held by a female passenger. One stolen bag contained a pair of gold earrings, whilst another held the official admission papers of a student scheduled to sit her Higher Secondary Certificate examinations the following morning.
Mosharraf Hossain, BRAC’s District Co-ordinator for micro-loans, confirmed that senior staff spent Thursday evening at the Fulchhari Police Station preparing the necessary legal documents to file a formal case. Local union parishad member Abdus Salam Khan noted that while the victims were residents of his ward, the actual ambush occurred within the geographical waters of the neighbouring Uriya union, a region where vast sandbars and shifting channels create difficult terrain for law enforcement patrols.
The Officer-in-Charge of Fulchhari Police Station, Durul Huda, confirmed that the victims had safely reached the mainland to give detailed statements, validating that initial accounts point to a loss of nearly 800,000 taka. Sheikh Muttazul Islam, the Additional Superintendent of Police for Gaibandha (B-Circle), assured the public that a coordinated maritime law enforcement response is underway, promising that the perpetrators will be tracked down and brought to justice swiftly.
