Human Rights Watch has urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to disband the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The New York-based rights organisation made the call in an open letter to Sheikh Hasina.
Until it is disbanded, RAB should be made into an entirely civilian force by withdrawing all military officers and soldiers from its membership, it said.
In the letter, HRW said the evidences that RAB officers were responsible for the contract killings of seven men in April 2014 have provoked outrage in Bangladesh. These are yet another example of how the unit has operated as a death squad.
“The Bangladeshi government has promised to reform RAB and hold it accountable, but it has utterly failed,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
He said the lack of accountability has allowed the Rapid Action Battalion to run amok. “RAB is beyond reform and should swiftly be abolished.”
RAB was established in 2004 by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to maintain law and order and check terrorism.
