Bagerhat shrine crocodile to be relocated after fatal attack

The Bagerhat district administration has decided to relocate a crocodile from a pond at the shrine of Hazrat Khan Jahan Ali after it fatally attacked a seven-year-old girl. Bagerhat Deputy Commissioner Golam Mohammad Baten said the lone crocodile in the shrine pond will be relocated to the Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre in the Sundarbans, adding that security around the shrine will also be enhanced. "Ensuring the safety of visitors is our top priority," he said after the meeting.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting last night attended by officials from the district administration, police and the forest department. An expert team from Khulna is expected to arrive today to oversee the operation. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of the Bagerhat East Sundarbans Division, said specialists would first assess the crocodile's behaviour and location before determining how and when it would be captured. The move follows the death of Fatema Akter, 7, who was attacked while bathing at the shrine pond on Monday evening.

Witnesses said the crocodile grabbed the child by the leg and dragged her underwater at the women's bathing ghat. A search operation involving firefighters, police and local residents continued through the night before her body was recovered early yesterday.