In reaction to a media report, State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan said the government had no plan to separate Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from police.
However, the government wants to reform the elite force, which is currently operated as a police unit, with a view to strengthening the organisation, the minister said while addressing reporters at his Secretariat office yesterday.
About a Home Ministry proposal to separate RAB from police, the minister said the police wing had prepared the draft.
“There was no instruction from me. The wing thinks that the separation will improve RAB’s service, so they made the proposal. But we are not considering it,” he said.
When contacted, Nazimuddin Chowdhury, additional secretary of police wing, said: “The move to reform RAB has been taken so that the elite force delivers service more efficiently and honestly.”
RAB is formed with the members from the army, police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Ansar, as well as the Public Administration Ministry.
Following a number of controversial incidents and so-called shootouts, particularly the sensational Narayanganj seven murders, questions have been raised about the RAB activities that drew nationwide criticism.
Recently, US-based Human Rights Watch urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to disband RAB, which was turned down by the Home Ministry.