Fisherman Reels in Live Grenade From Padma River in Rajshahi

A fisherman casting his nets for a daily catch in Rajshahi’s Padma River experienced a harrowing ordeal when his net dragged up a live grenade instead of fish. The incident occurred on Wednesday in the Raotha village area under Charghat upazila, involving a local fisherman identified as Saidur. The discovery triggered an immediate security response, successfully averting any potential disaster in the residential locality.

Inspector Anwar Sattar, the Public Relations Officer of the National Emergency Service 999, detailed the unusual sequence of events on Thursday. Saidur had cast his fishing nets into the deep currents of the Padma River as part of his routine livelihood. Whilst hauling the net back into his boat, he felt an unusually heavy weight. Upon pulling it over the gunwale, he discovered a small, encrusted, and remarkably heavy metallic object tangled in the mesh. Coated heavily in river silt and mud, the object resembled a piece of antique metal or a valuable curiosity rather than a piece of weaponry.

Unaware of the latent danger, the fisherman brought the mud-covered object back to his homestead in Raotha village. As the family gathered to wash away the compacted river silt, the distinctive ridges and shape of the object raised suspicion. Saidur’s son, Sabbir Rahman, grew wary of the object’s appearance and used his smartphone to execute a Google image search. The online results quickly matched the object with historical military munitions, identifying it conclusively as an unexploded hand grenade or bomb. Realising the grave threat to their lives and neighbours, Sabbir immediately dialled the national emergency helpline number, 999, to report the hazard.

The emergency call was promptly received at the centralized control room by Call Taker Constable Yasin Arafat, who recognized the urgency of the situation. The 999 service immediately relayed the coordinates and details to the Charghat Police Station, the specialised Bomb Disposal Unit, and the Rajshahi District Police Control Room to coordinate a swift response. Throughout the operation, Sub-Inspector Aminul Islam, serving as the 999 Police Dispatcher, maintained constant communication between the caller, the family, and the deploying field units to monitor the safety of the site.

A specialised team from the Charghat Police Station, alongside experts from the military Bomb Disposal Unit, arrived at the village residence shortly after receiving the alert. Security personnel cordoned off the house and evacuated adjacent properties to establish a safe perimeter. The bomb disposal specialists carefully assessed the structural integrity of the munition, identifying it as a live and highly volatile vintage grenade. Following established safety protocols, the team secured the explosive device, transported it to an isolated, unpopulated stretch near the river basin, and detonated it safely under controlled conditions. Local authorities suspect the grenade may have been submerged in the riverbed since the 1971 Liberation War, buried under layers of silt until recent currents or fishing activities dislodged it.