Dhaka: The Cabinet on Monday cleared the draft of a law to establish a specialised unit named 'Special Response Battalion (SRB)' under Bangladesh Police, abolishing the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The approval came at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat, said a press release.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the draft of the Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, 2026 was approved in principle and also given final approval subject to vetting by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division. The draft law placed by the Ministry of Home Affairs outlines that the existing RAB will be abolished and the SRB will be established as a specialised unit under Bangladesh Police.
The proposed law provides for the formation of a multi-stakeholder grievance redress committee to address complaints from citizens as well as internal grievances of SRB members. It further provides for the transfer of RAB-related manpower, powers, authority, benefits, funds, property, accounts, records and other assets to the SRB.
Until new rules are framed, the existing rules governing departmental proceedings concerning RAB will remain in force, with necessary adaptations, according to the draft law.