Cabinet approves law to abolish RAB, establish new unit

The Cabinet on Monday gave in-principle and its final approval to the draft of a new law that will abolish the existing Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and establishe a specialised unit named the Special Response Battalion (SRB) under the police force.

The in-principle and final approval for the draft of the "Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, 2026" was given at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

According to a press release issued by the Cabinet Division, the key features of the "Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, 2026" include provisions to annulling the existing Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and establish a specialised unit named the Special Response Battalion (SRB) under Bangladesh Police. It also includes provisions for forming a multi-party complaint redressal committee to address public grievances and internal complaints of the unit's members.

The release further pointed out that provisions have been made for transferring all RAB-related personnel, orders, powers, authority, facilities, funds, assets, accounts, records, and other related resources to the SRB. Additionally, until new rules are framed, the existing departmental procedures and regulations related to RAB will remain in force with necessary adaptations.

The Cabinet approved the draft of the "Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, 2026" finally, subject to vetting by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, as mentioned in the release.