[🇧🇩] Bangladesh Police and Rapid Action Battalion

Bangladesh's elite force RAB, sanctioned by US, seeks public apology for misdeeds
Tanzil Rahaman and Prattayee Chakma 12 December, 2024, 16:28



The Rapid Action Battalion on Thursday sought public apology for the extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and all other misdeeds it had perpetrated since its establishment till date.

Its director general AKM Shahidur Rahman sought the apology on behalf of the force while responding to questions at a press conference held at its Media Centre in the capital’s Karwan Bazar.

‘I apologise to the victims and their families who were tortured and harmed by RAB members since its establishment. I also apologise to people and the families of those, including the seven men murdered in Narayanganj, who were killed by the RAB,’ said Shahidur, also an additional inspector general of police.

He said that only bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice through fair investigations could redeem the RAB as an institution from such allegations.

He also assured that the force would not involve in such acts on anyone’s order in the future.



Total 3,973 people were killed in reported crossfire allegedly during encounters with members of law enforcement and security agencies and also died in their custody between January 2004 and June 2024, according to rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra.

Of them, 1,286 people were killed during the gunfights with the RAB and while held in their custody, as reported by the elite force, the ASK data shows. It also shows that the RAB and police are jointly accused of 94 killings in the timeframe.

The Rapid Action Battalion was founded in 2004 as an elite force with members from the police, army, navy, air force and Border Guard Bangladesh aimed at improving the volatile law and order situation.

On December 10, 2021, the United States Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the RAB for human rights abuse.

RAB chief Shahidur at the press conference said that the Commission for Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances was investigating into the all allegations of the enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and secret detention centre, popularly known as Aynaghar.

Acknowledging the existence of the force’s secret detention centres, Shahidur said that they had kept their detention centres, popularly known as Aynaghar, as they were in the past following the directives of the inquiry commission for the enforced disappearances not to make any changes to their structures.

On November 5, the Commission for Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances said that it had received complaints of enforced disappearance of over 1,600 victims, the incidents of which occurred during the immediate past 15-year rule of the now ousted Awami League.

About 200 victims of enforced disappearances remain still traceless.

BRAC University teacher Nabila Idris, also the commission’s member, told New Age that they had found many secret detention centres of the RAB.

‘The RAB DG also admitted the matter about the secret detention centres. We are not doing investigation into extrajudicial killings, but many incidents of enforced disappearance have ended in perpetration of extrajudicial killings,’ said Nabila.

The families of seven people, who were abducted on April 27, 2014 and killed by some RAB members in Narayanganj, are still waiting for justice to be finally delivered.

Three days later, on April 30, 2014, the bodies of local Awami League leader and Narayanganj City Corporation councillor Nazrul Islam, his associates Tazul Islam Rassel, Liton, and Swapan and his driver Jahangir, and Narayanganj court lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver Ibrahim were found afloat in the Sitalakhya River. The discovery of the bodies led to a lengthy battle for justice that has yet to end.

The long wait for justice has left the victims’ families deeply frustrated as appeals filed by death-row convicts, including then Awami League leader Noor Hossain and then RAB commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Tarek Sayeed Mohammad, has remained pending with the Appellate Division for more than five years now.

According to court officials, the appeals of 20 out of the total 35 convicts have remained pending with the Appellate Division.

Teknaf municipal councillor Ekramul Haque, who was a member of the then ruling Awami League, was killed in a reported gunfight with the RAB at Noakhalipara on Teknaf Marine Drive Road in Cox’s Bazar on the night of May 26, 2018.

The killing sparked an outcry after a mobile phone conversation between Ekramul and his daughter went viral on social media.

At the Thursday’s press conference, when asked about the calls for abolishing the RAB, force chief Shahidur said that the decision would depend on the government.

‘If the government abolishes the organisation, we will accept it,’ he said.

Shahidur gave the commitment that the force would operate with transparency and integrity to restore public trust in the organisation under him.

Replying to a query, he said that 16 RAB members were arrested for crimes, including extortions, drug-related offences and robberies, after the regime change on August 5.

‘Criminal cases were also filed against them. If anyone gets involved in such activities in the future, criminal and departmental actions will be taken against them,’ he added.

The chief of the Rapid Action Battalion revealed that since the force’s inception, 58 officers and 4,235 members had faced disciplinary actions for various offences.

The force has also failed to submit the charge-sheet of much-talked about journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi to the court for 114th times till October 15 this year.

On September 30, the High Court ordered the formation of a task force to probe the case that remained unsolved for 12 years.

Admitting his force’s failure to give any expected results over the investigation, the RAB director general said that the force’s inability in this regard led to the High Court directive to form a high level probe committee.

Responding to another question over the failure of submitting the charge sheet of Taqi murder case in Narayanganj, the RAB chief said, six arrests were made before August 5. Two of them gave confessional statements under Section 164.

The body of Tanwir Muhammad Taqi, an A-Level student, who went missing on March 6, 2013, was recovered some days later from River Sitalakhya.

‘We have also arrested another six people after August 5. One of them gave confessional statement,’ Shahidur Rahman added.​

A welcome admission from Rab DG
Reform of the force must accompany his apology


VISUAL: STAR

The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), a specialised unit of Bangladesh Police, has finally admitted that much of the allegations against it—of enforced disappearances and murders in the guise of crossfires—are true. Historically, the force has constantly denied that it is involved in such activities. We welcome this rather surprising announcement, but acknowledgement is only the first step towards justice.

At a views exchange meeting on Thursday, the Rab director-general apologised to families who lost their loved ones to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, acknowledging the existence of secret prisons. This comes 20 years after the formation of Rab, which was aimed at curbing organised crime and terrorism, but turned into a "government death squad," as per statements of many activists and critics. Over the period, the unit garnered a reputation associated with extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture of opposition political figures and critics of the government. As per data compiled by Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), at least 1,200 people were killed in the so-called crossfires involving Rab from the force's inception in April 2004 till June this year.

But now, the opportunity for redress has arisen. The inquiry commission on enforced disappearances, formed on August 27 this year, is investigating around 1,600 complaints, 172 linked to Rab, and the International Crimes Tribunal has initiated relevant proceedings. The US sanction of Rab drastically brought down extrajudicial killings. Therefore, what transformed the force into a weapon of suppression, as the data implies, is the complete lack of accountability. Fortunately, Rab itself is aware of this fact, and is accordingly drafting a new law to regulate its operations, while mulling to introduce a new name, logo and uniform. We hope such actions will bear fruit and not just be for optics.

The apology should be followed by genuine attempts at reform, and the DG's pledge to never partake in such crimes is hopeful. But much remains to be done. As Mayer Daak, a platform of the families of enforced disappearance victims, has made it clear, every person forcibly disappeared must be returned to their loved ones, and families have to be informed about incidents of disappearances and deaths. While many are advocating for the disbandment of this force, if it does remain, we demand a proper legal framework for Rab to operate, one that would take the rights of citizens, including freedom of expression, into consideration. Additionally, there has to be consequences for the unit's past crimes, for which an independent body to investigate the cases is paramount. And based on the findings of the investigations, those who have been involved in these crimes must be brought to justice. If genuine changes are achieved, we are optimistic that Rab will emerge as a pro-people force.​

Reform imperatives of our police

Bangladesh police try to disperse protesters in Dhaka during the quota reform movement. FILE PHOTO: AFP

The police reform of Bangladesh requires an in-depth examination of the police organisation, its mandate, its functional dynamics. It also highlights the need to establish effective structures to oversee police performance and ensure the realisation of the organisational mission. The reform process has to touch all ranks and be all inclusive, calling for a commitment and sense of purpose from the political executive since what is involved is basically a redetermination of the whole governance paradigm.

Every organisation, whether public or private, can perform well only if it is founded on valid organisational principles. In the case of Bangladesh police, these principles were not followed over the years, resulting in a corrupt, inefficient, and highly politicised force. Increasingly, the police were rendered agents of the political executive rather than instruments of a democratic state. The selective application of law against opponents, whether political or personal, at the behest of influential individuals, became the norm rather than the exception. People perceived the police as agents of the party in power, not as members of an organisation publicly maintained to enforce the rule of law.

The key question relevant to the reform is: what kind of organisation will the police of Bangladesh need to meet the law-and-order challenges of the 21st century? As a first step, the responsibility of maintenance of law and order will need to rest unambiguously with the police. The police hierarchy must be made responsible not only for the organisation and the internal administration of the force but also exclusively for all matters connected with maintaining law and order. In short, policing operations should no longer be subjected to general control and direction from outside the police department.

Steps will be required for rendering the police professionally competent, operationally neutral, functionally cohesive, and organisationally responsible for all its actions. This, in turn, will lead to efficient police operations, better decision-making, improved discipline within the force, and revamped accountability mechanisms. The role, duties, and responsibilities of the police must be orientated to prioritise service function, ensuring that the prevention and detection of crime serve a social purpose. The reform strategy should seek to solicit voluntary support and cooperation of the people.

The sole purpose of the police is to enforce the laws of the land without fear or favour towards anyone. Therefore, it is crucial to render the police politically neutral. Such neutrality has been achieved in other countries by placing the police under apolitical control, thereby creating a buffer between political expediency and law enforcement. Without such a buffer, influential individuals will never allow the police to perform their mandated duties.

The police in Bangladesh still monitor all political activities without discrimination, excluding only the ruling party of the day. FILE PHOTO: STAR

Police accountability is a subject of great contemporary significance. The increasingly sophisticated range of coercive, scientific, and technical apparatus at the command of police requires stricter accountability controls. Bangladesh urgently needs statutory commission institutions like the Independent Police Complaints Authority in Britain or the Public Safety Commission system in Japan. The Independent Police Complaint authority in Britain consists of members of civil society and is mandated to inquire into serious complaints against police. One of the most important functions of Japan's Public Safety Commission System is to ensure that police operations remain uninfluenced by the party in power. The apolitical public safety commissions at national and regional levels are designed to insulate the police from the debilitating effects of political control.

Historically, policing in Bangladesh has largely been a one-sided affair, with communities having little to no say in local policing plans and strategies that affect them most. The idea that "police are the people, and people are the police" has not taken root in the region. Unfortunately, the Police Act of 1861 was silent on the issue of community consultation. Instead, it focused on the responsibility of communities to ensure order, with the entire community facing collective punishment if any member stepped out of line.

For quite some time, there has been reluctance among senior police officials to recognise the necessity of viewing police forces as organisations fundamentally similar to any other enterprise or business. The police organisation must, therefore, evolve a shared vision and understanding of a common mission increasingly focused on meeting community expectations.

The first order of business is to enact a new police act to replace the present archaic legislation enacted in 1861. This act is weak across almost all parameters that govern democratic police legislation. It has made it easier for others to abuse and misuse the police organisation. People in positions of power have been able to do so because the act grants the government authority to exercise superintendence over the police without defining the term "superintendence" or prescribing guidelines to ensure legitimate use of power. The act does not establish institutional arrangements to insulate the police from undesirable external control, pressures, and influences. It also fails to recognise the government's responsibility to establish an efficient and effective police force. Furthermore, it does not require the setting of objectives or performance standards, nor does it establish independent mechanisms to monitor and inspect police performance.

The goal should be to establish a police force subject to the rule of law rather than the whims of the party in power. The police should intervene in the lives of citizens only under limited and controlled circumstances and must be held publicly accountable.

Historically, policing in Bangladesh has largely been a one-sided affair, with communities having little to no say in local policing plans and strategies that affect them most. The idea that "police are the people, and people are the police" has not taken root in the region. Unfortunately, the Police Act of 1861 was silent on the issue of community consultation. Instead, it focused on the responsibility of communities to ensure order, with the entire community facing collective punishment if any member stepped out of line.

An inefficient and outdated administrative legacy is undermining reforms supported by numerous national and international expert missions. For too long, the basic functioning of the police has remained unchanged. What is needed is to make improving the quality of law enforcement a permanent and integral part of the national agenda.

An enlightened and determined political leadership, high levels of public support, and a motivated and well-led public sector are critical for change. Equally, if not more importantly, a civil society that demands and supports higher standards of police performance is essential for reform.

The core issue today is not what the police does, but why it does what it does. It is time to make the police work for the people.

Over the last few decades, public opinion leaders have responded to the growing policing crisis with traditional approaches. They have blamed the police officers, protested against abuses of authority and corruption, and levelled criticism at the police without showing the necessary will or support to change its design.

The police reform debate seems to be attracting a wider and more serious audience. These issues are receiving focused and sustained attention in the media. If the goal is to make quality policing a way of life, then we need to begin by restructuring the existing police framework. The police constable must be transformed into a responsible official providing essential services to the community. The existing police setup must be replaced with a system that strives to be customer-friendly. There must be a shared sense of mission and clearly understood organisational goals, as well as citizens' inclusion in police decision-making processes.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is former IGP of Bangladesh Police.​

IGP apologises for police acts in party interest
Zaman Monir . Sylhet 22 December, 2024, 00:41



Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam on Saturday apologised for the police activities for protecting political party interest in the past.

Stating that the police were currently in a state of disarray due to fear and panic, he said that senior police officers fled after giving orders to their juniors and leaving them unsecured during the student-led mass uprising in July-August.

‘The biggest challenge now is to revitalise the police force,’ he said, adding that they were ashamed that the police committed major crimes in the past by working to protect the interest of political party.

The IGP made the comments while responding to reporters’ queries after a views-exchange meeting held on Saturday afternoon with the officers working in all units of Sylhet division at the conference room of Sylhet Metropolitan Police headquarters.

He also said that the Police Reform Commission had already been formed to restore people’s trust in the police.

‘We have recommended some specific issues to the commission. Especially, most of the police members have to work overtime. But they do not get any allowance for this. We are working on this issue,’ he said.

‘Apart from this, we are trying to solve their problems to bring back their enthusiasm for work,’ he added.

Regretting the death of ATM Turab, a photo-journalist of a regional daily newspaper, in police firing during the anti-discrimination student movement, he said that the Sylhet Metropolitan Police commissioner would work seriously in the Turab murder case.

‘Journalist Turab died in our firing while he was performing professional duties. He cannot be brought back. We have no other option but to apologise,’ the IGP said.

Responding to another query, he said that taking advantage of the changed environment after the July uprising, unscrupulous people filed cases against some innocent people.

‘Innocent people who have been accused in the cases will not be arrested. The police will investigate and assure them of facing no harassment,’ he said.

Among others, Rapid Action Battalion director general (additional IGP) AKM Shahidur Rahman, Sylhet Range of Police deputy inspector general Md Mushfequr Rahman and Sylhet Metropolitan Police commissioner Md Rezaul Karim, among others, attended the views-exchange programme.​

Police apology for activities in partisan interests not enough
23 December, 2024, 00:00

THE apology that the inspector general of police has made for the activities that the police have done to protect the partisan interests of the ruling party in the past is welcome. But the apology at the same time constitutes an admission of the misdeeds that the police have done in partisan interests not only during the July-August uprising but also in the 15 years of the authoritarian regime of the Awami League government, which the uprising toppled on August 5. This warrants that the police as a force and the force’s top brass that has lowered the dignity of the force as a state agency should be held to account. The police chief has also noted that senior police officers have fled after giving orders to their juniors to take action in partisan interests, especially during the uprising, leaving the juniors insecure. Such a standing of the police has left the force in a state of disarray, as the police chief notes, because of fear and panic that have gripped the police units after the political changeover, making it difficult for the government to adequately attend to law and order. And, in the event of such activities done in partisan interests, the biggest challenge that remains is to revitalise the police force.

Whilst the police as a force and the people at the helm of the force who had made the police, despite being a state agency, work in partisan interests of the ruling party should be held to account, there should be reforms in the police and the regulations that govern the force to stop the government from using it in partisan interests and to stop the police from being used as a weapon of the government to go heavy-handed against the opposition or any individuals or entities that are critical of the government or the ruling party. Whilst the accountability of the police and their managers in connection with their past partisan action is important for reparation and the restoration of people’s trust in the force, the reforms are equally important to stop any recurrence of such police practice that has lowered the dignity of the force. The interim government, installed on August 8, instituted a commission for police administrative reforms. The commission is expected to make recommendations to improve the police administration and behaviour. It should recommend ways to tie loose ends in the police administration to keep the force off any partisan pressure. The police say that they have also put forth some issues for the commission, which should examine the issues and try to attend to them for an effective functioning of the force.

The government should, therefore, hold to account the police force and its managers having worked in partisan interests of the ruling party. This is important for the accountability, justice and reparations, especially in restoring people’s trust in the force. And, the government should reform the police administration to keep the force above partisan interests.​