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Published : 03 Feb 2026, 02:01 PM
The Bangladesh government has decided to change the name of the Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB.
The law-enforcing agency has regularly drawn criticism from the UN and different human rights organisations for its alleged violations of rights.
Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the name of the elite force will be changed to the Special Intervention Force, or SIF.
He made the announcement to the media after a meeting of the Core Committee on Law and Order at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday.
“The chief advisor has approved the matter,” he said. “A government order will be issued soon.”
Alongside the name, the uniforms of the agency will also be changed.
“The decision has already been made,” Jahangir said. “You will see SIF members in new uniforms.”
RAB was formed on Mar 26, 2004 using personnel from the police, Army, Navy, Air Force, Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Coast Guard during the BNP-led four-party coalition government amid a rise in militancy and a deterioration of law and order.
Since then, allegations of hundreds of extrajudicial killings have been brought against the force, many of which were claimed to be conducted in the name of “crossfire” and “shootouts”. This continued after the Awami League came to power after the BNP.
The international human rights organisation Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called for the dissolution of RAB, but the Bangladesh government has not done so. Even Khaleda Zia, who was in power when RAB was formed, later demanded the abolition of the agency during the Awami League’s rule.
In December 2021, the US government imposed sanctions on RAB and some of its former and current officials over serious allegations of human rights violations. Since then, deaths from RAB's “crossfire” incidents tapered off.
In its latest report on human rights violations during the 2024 July Uprising, the UN Human Rights Office - OHCHR recommended the abolition of RAB, as well as limiting BGB to border protection and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) to military intelligence activities.
Instead of answering those calls, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has now changed the name of the force 22 years after its initial formation.
