Govt decides to rename Rab instead

While the United Nations and various human rights organisations have long called for the abolition of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), the government has instead decided to rename it. 

Its name will be Special Intervention Force (SIF). 

Confirming the development, Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said, “The chief adviser has already given his approval. A government order will be issued soon.” 

The adviser told a press briefing, after a meeting of the law-and-order core committee at the home ministry on Tuesday, that the force’s uniform would also be changed.

He added that the decision reflected changes in the force’s operational standards over time.

“You have already seen their standard of work. If you compare their standard of work from one-and-a-half years ago to now, there is a big change,” he said, adding that the renaming was part of that broader transformation

On March 26, 2004, Rab was formed amid rising militancy and a deterioration in law and order during the BNP-led four-party alliance government.

The US imposed sanctions on Rab and several of its former and serving officials in December 2021 over serious allegations of human rights violations. After that, Rab’s “crossfire” incidents nearly stopped.

Most recently, in a report on alleged human rights violations during the 2024 student movement, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, recommended the abolishment of Rab. Ignoring the calls, the interim government decided to rename Rab, 22 years after it was formed.

At the briefing, a reporter cited Transparency International Bangladesh’s warning that the failure to control “mobs” could affect the election. The reporter also referred to survey findings indicating that more than 600 police personnel were attacked in various ways in 2025, asking how the polls could be ensured when the police themselves were under threat.

The home adviser said TIB shared its concerns and referred to the situation with the police between August 5 and 8, as well as the period that followed.

He said police morale and efficiency had since improved then and that there would be no problem in holding the election.

The adviser also urged reporters to compare the situation after the declaration of schedules in previous elections with the current environment.

At the briefing, Brig Gen Mohammad Ali Haidar Siddiqui, director general (operations and plans) of Armed Forces Division, said the joint forces recovered 199 weapons and arrested 1,807 people since the election schedule was announced.

He added that 106,223 personnel from the three services have been deployed nationwide.

Describing the recoveries as encouraging, the army officer said members of the forces have reached every district and upazila and would continue coordinated drives with the district administration, police, and other agencies.

Asked about the ownership of the weapons, Haidar said a full breakdown was not immediately available.

However, he said that of weapons that went missing from police and Rab, forces have so far recovered 4,432. Besides, 65 weapons missing from jail authorities and 328 missing licenced weapons were recovered.

He added that 2,906 weapons were recovered in cases involving illegal arms missing from police station storehouses. “In total, 7,731 weapons have been recovered since September.”