Parliament on Thursday passed the Special Response Battalion (SRB) Bill, 2026, paving the way for the abolition of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and its replacement with a specialised police unit despite strong objections from opposition lawmakers.
The bill seeks to establish the SRB by removing the provisions relating to RAB from the Armed Police Battalions Ordinance, 2003, which provided the legal basis for the formation of RAB.
RAB was formed in 2004 under the amended ordinance and has faced criticism over allegations of human rights violations and enforced disappearances.
The government is now repealing the ordinance and enacting separate laws for the SRB and the Armed Police Battalion (APBn).
The SRB Bill was placed in Parliament on September 3. Opposition lawmakers had then objected to its introduction, arguing that RAB was effectively being reconstituted under a new name.
They also submitted notes of dissent on eight issues during scrutiny of the bill by the parliamentary committee.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed moved the bill for immediate consideration. Opposition members called for sending it to a select committee and for public opinion to be sought before its passage.
Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami lawmakers Md Ruhul Amin, Md Rashedul Islam Rashed, Nurul Islam and Muhammad Nazibur Rahman, and independent MP Sk Mozibur Rahman Iqbal took part in the discussion.
The bill provides for an SRB under the police force. The unit will be formed by deploying or appointing, on deputation, police personnel, members of law enforcement agencies and a specified number of officers, armed personnel or employees, according to government requirements.
The rank structure, recruitment procedures and service conditions of SRB personnel will be determined by rules. The unit will have its own flag, emblem and prescribed uniform.
The director general of the SRB will be a serving police officer holding a rank no lower than additional inspector general of police.
Under the bill, RAB’s manpower, orders, powers, authority, existing facilities, funds, cash and bank balances, liabilities, contracts, movable and immovable property, registers, records and other documents will be transferred to the SRB.
Until rules are framed under the new law, departmental disciplinary proceedings and court proceedings relating to RAB under the 2005 rules will remain in force.
The SRB will have powers to investigate criminal offences, conduct searches, make arrests and seize property. The bill also provides for detention facilities, stores and interrogation rooms under the unit.
It also provides for a complaint redress committee to deal with complaints from citizens and internal grievances of unit members. An additional director general of the unit will chair the committee.
Opposition lawmaker Nurul Islam said people remained fearful of RAB because of allegations of human rights violations and its alleged involvement in enforced disappearances.
He questioned the decision to pass the bill within only four working days without adequate consultation and called for discussions with stakeholders.
The opposition MP also questioned whether the proposed complaint redress committee will have sufficient authority to address allegations and proposed that it be headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court.
He also said the bill did not clearly specify where detained people will be kept and called for all SRB facilities and offices to be gazetted.
Nazibur Rahman referred to the seven murders in Narayanganj in 2014 and said former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had called for RAB to be abolished after the incident.
He said she later described RAB as a “cancer” and that the BNP formally recommended its abolition in 2024.
Nazibur Rahman said the United Nations human rights mechanism, Human Rights Watch and the Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances also recommended the abolition of RAB.
He said transferring RAB’s manpower, offices, powers, documents, assets, contracts and liabilities to the SRB meant that “only the signboard is being changed”.
Shafiqur Rahman said the abolition of RAB had been a demand of various political parties and human rights organisations, but nobody had demanded the creation of another force of the same nature.
He said the proposed law appears to retain RAB’s personnel, facilities, logistics and manpower while changing only its name.
The opposition leader urged the government to withdraw the bill and first establish why a specialised force of this nature is necessary.
Replying to the opposition, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said abolishing RAB was a BNP commitment and that delaying the bill will mean allowing RAB to continue to exist.
He said the bill was discussed by the parliamentary committee and has also been available on the ministry’s website for a long period for public feedback.
The minister said the complaint redress committee will deal with departmental complaints against members of the unit.
He said RAB will be abolished once the law is passed and a new battalion called the SRB will subsequently be established.
Salahuddin said the assets and equipment currently held by RAB have to be transferred somewhere because they are state property.
He said transferring them to the new organisation will avoid unnecessary fresh procurement.
APBN Bill also passed
After passing the SRB Bill, Parliament passed the Armed Police Battalions (APBn) Bill, 2026, repealing the Armed Police Battalions Ordinance.
The bill provides for APBn units under the police force, including the Special Security and Protection Battalion, hill battalions, airport battalions and any other battalions specified by the government.
The proposed law gives APBn powers to investigate criminal offences and, subject to the Code of Criminal Procedure and other applicable laws, to enter premises, conduct searches, seize property and make arrests.
The bill also bars APBn members from directly or indirectly publishing, or assisting in publishing, information or documents in electronic media or newspapers without prior approval from the competent authorities.
The APBn Bill was passed by voice vote after opposition proposals for sending it to a select committee and seeking public opinion were disposed of.
