Newly appointed Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) Director General Ahsan Habib Palash today said any decision on abolishing, renaming or restructuring the elite force rests with the government.
Speaking at a view-exchange meeting with journalists in Kawran Bazar, he said Rab had no authority to decide whether it would continue in its current form.
“That is entirely a government matter,” he said, adding that the force’s responsibility was to continue its work and prove its effectiveness through performance.
Ahsan said the battalion should be assessed based on its recent work and its ability to serve people in a professional, humane and technology-driven manner.
He expressed hope that Rab would move forward as a disciplined and modern force, adding that its performance over the past one and a half years demonstrated its potential to stay on the right track.
According to Rab data, the force arrested 3,473 people in drives across the country between January 1 and March 29 this year.
Among them, 104 were held in arms-related cases, 484 in murder cases, and 174 in cases involving violence against women and children, including rape. Another 1,115 were arrested in anti-narcotics drives.
Rab also arrested 61 people in anti-snatching drives, 106 in anti-dacoity operations, 26 in anti-human trafficking drives, and 10 accused of creating public disorder. A further 1,393 were detained in other cases, including fraud, smuggling, jailbreak, counterfeit currency, and pornography-related offences.
During the period, Rab said it recovered 331 firearms. It also seized 24.166 kilogrammes of heroin, 7,031 bottles of phensedyl, 5,266kg of cannabis, 1,440,962 yaba pills, 4,470 litres of foreign liquor, 606 litres of locally made liquor, and 95 litres of beer.
Ahsan highlighted several operations, including the arrest of a suspect with a foreign revolver in Dhaka’s Rupnagar on March 27.
He also referred to the arrest of three individuals in Sreenagar, Munshiganj, on March 10, with firearms and ammunition, and a joint drive in Jangal Salimpur area of Chattogram on March 9, where 22 alleged armed criminals were arrested.
The briefing further mentioned drives in Madaripur, Jhenaidah, Bogura, and Narsingdi in connection with murder cases, as well as arrests in rape cases in Sunamganj, Chattogram, Jashore, Pabna, and Rangpur.
Responding to questions on reform, Ahsan said restructuring, legal changes, and institutional redesign were policy matters for the government.
He said Rab’s priority was to carry out its duties, while internal mechanisms would address allegations of human rights violations or misconduct.
Ahsan added that the force would cooperate with judicial processes when required.
“If any relevant information is available, it will be provided to support the trial process,” he said, noting that such assistance would depend on Rab’s capacity and available evidence.
The Rab chief said the force had strengthened its intelligence activities and was gathering information on emerging threats.
He added that Rab would continue its operations against crime, extremism, and other security risks across the country.
