Government decides to rename RAB

The government has decided to rename the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) as Special Intervention Force (SIF).

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury announced the decision on Tuesday following a meeting of the law-and-order core committee at the Secretariat.

RAB, an elite law enforcement unit in Bangladesh, was formed for combating serious crimes, terrorism, and organized criminal activities in 2003.

Operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs, RAB is a composite force comprising personnel from the Police, Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Ansar.

RAB has played a crucial role in counter-terrorism operations, anti-drug campaigns and high-profile criminal investigations across the country.

RAB was established on 12 July 2003, under the Armed Police Battalion (Amendment) Act, 2003, which amended the Armed Forces Battalion Ordinance of 1979.

Since its inception, RAB has faced criticism from human rights organizations over alleged extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. It may be recalled that the US government imposed embargoes on a number of RAB officers for the above allegations during 2021.

Lt. General (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury stated that besides renaming RAB and changing its uniform, the government also has decided to upgrade the department's professionalism, monitoring its compliance with the statutory code of conduct and improving its behaviour with people.