Unknown assailants torched a fishing boat and 400 meters of fishing net — a tool for the livelihood of some 15 Hindu families of fishermen — at Arani of Bagha upazila in Rajshahi yesterday. Brindabon Haldar and fishermen in his group had anchored their boat with fishing nets at Nurnagar ghat (landing spot) of the Boral river on Tuesday evening. The following morning, they noticed that their boat was not at the ghat, said Brindabon. They found the half-burnt boat half a kilometre away after scouring the area for nearly an hour. Nearby, they also found the net burnt to ashes, he said breaking down in tears. The arson incident that took place in early hours was a sequel to feuds among fishermen, Ali Mahmud, officer-in-charge of Bagha Police Station, said quoting locals. They will investigate the matter further, he added. The fishermen alleged that a group of local goons had threatened to burn down their boat and net unless they pay extortion to them. Sujit Chandra Haldar, secretary of Arani Fishers Cooperative Association, said on last Tuesday, the thugs had waylaid them and demanded all their catch — 6kgs of fish — they caught from the Boral. Although they criminals took 1kg of fish from them by force, they threatened the fishermen of an arson attack on their boat and net. He said he took a loan to pay Tk 50,000 for the boat and Tk 2.5 lakh for the net.