The government today issued a gazette renaming elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) as Special Response Battalion (SRB) under Bangladesh Police, restructuring its authority and tightening the monitoring system.
The dissolution of RAB came into immediate effect with publication of the gazette on Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, 2026.
According to the gazette, the SRB Act scrapped provisions of the Armed Police Battalions Ordinance, 1979, from which RAB derived its foundational statutory authority.
It said the RAB’s Court Procedure and Departmental Proceedings Rules, 2005, would remain in force.
The gazette also states that any departmental disciplinary proceedings initiated against RAB members and any court proceedings under the rules or any other law would remain valid and effective.
“Thus, the dissolution of RAB will not invalidate previously initiated departmental actions or ongoing court proceedings,” it said.
The new law also contains detailed provisions for the incorporation of RAB personnel and movable and immovable assets and record books and documents in newly formed SRB.
Under the law, the relevant RAB personnel, orders, powers, authority and existing facilities would immediately be transferred to and vested in the SRB alongside the dissolved force’s funds, cash and money held in bank accounts.
All liabilities, contracts and other financial and administrative responsibilities of RAB will also be transferred to the new unit.
RAB relied on the Armed Police Battalions Ordinance for its legal powers but the Jatiya Sangsad repealed that ordinance by passing the Armed Police Battalions (APBn) Bill, 2026, effectively deleting all legal provisions that previously tied the elite force’s authority to the APBn.
Instead, according to the gazette, rather than riding on the back of the APBn law, the new force would operate under the Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, 2026.
The SRB law explicitly stated that it intends to ensure transparency, oversight, and effective accountability that RAB lacked.
