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Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has signalled the government is in the process of forming “a new elite force” under a new law, sidestepping a direct answer on whether the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) will continue to exist, reports bdnews24.com.
He, however, said no decision has yet been made on whether the force will retain the name “RAB”.
“We have taken the initiative to enact a new law under which there will be an elite force. Whether we will rename RAB or form another new elite force is still under consideration, Salahuddin added.
The home minister spoke to the media on Monday after a meeting organised marking RAB’s 22nd founding anniversary. Prime Minister’s Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman, Inspector General of Police Ali Hossain Fakir, and other senior officials accompanied him.
On RAB's current status, he said: “At present, the force is being operated under a law related to the Armed Police Battalion. It has been functioning on an ad hoc basis. It was not appropriate for an institution to operate in this way.”
“Now we will enact a separate law for an elite force, where authority will be clearly defined, responsibilities will be specified, and accountability will be ensured accordingly. This is not yet the time to disclose the details.”
In response to a question about whether the sanctions imposed by the United States on RAB would be resolved, the minister said the actions of a few officers should not be attributed to the entire institution.
He believes that if a new elite force is established in the context of the political transition, the US may reconsider the sanctions issue.
He said, “There was no state institution that was not damaged during the ‘fascist’ regime. Police, Army, RAB, BGB -- all were affected. But we must remember that an entire institution cannot bear responsibility for the actions of a few officers.
“We have already given directives that all officials be held accountable under their respective institutional laws and existing laws.”
“When America imposed sanctions on the RAB, the force had been involved in certain activities… it had been used as a political tool. At that time, the ‘fascist’ government under Sheikh Hasina used many such institutions to fulfil political objectives and establish one-party rule.
“The American sanctions on RAB are still in effect. But if we rename the elite force or raise a new one, they may reconsider the issue. We can hope for that, though many things still remain to be done……let’s see.”
On whether RAB would again be used for political ends, he said: “Morning shows the day. It has been three months (since BNP formed the government). During this time, has the police been used politically? Has RAB been used politically? Has any other force been used for political purposes? So, morning shows the day.”
The RAB was formed on Mar 26, 2004, during the rule of the BNP-led four-party alliance government, amid the rise of militancy and worsening law and order. It was created with members from the police, Army, Navy, Air Force, Ansar and VDP, BGB, and the Coast Guard.
Later, the force faced allegations of hundreds of extrajudicial killings under the guise of “crossfire” and “gunfights.” Such allegations continued during both BNP and Awami League governments.
International human rights organisation Human Rights Watch repeatedly called for the disbandment of the RAB, but the Bangladesh government did not respond to those demands.
Even Khaleda Zia, under whose government the RAB had originally been formed, later demanded its dissolution during the Awami League era.
In December 2021, the US imposed sanctions on RAB and several of its former and current officials over serious allegations of human rights violations. Following that, incidents of “crossfire” by RAB nearly stopped.
Finally, after incidents of human rights violations during the 2024 student movement, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recommended disbanding the RAB, limiting the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) strictly to border protection duties, and restricting the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence to military intelligence activities only.
Ignoring those calls, 22 years after the formation of RAB, the former interim government led by Muhammad Yunus renamed the force.
At that time, home advisor Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury had said that the new name of RAB, would be the Special Intervention Force (SIF).