Khaleda calls for disbanding RAB

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has asked the government to disband Bangladesh’s elite anti-crime force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The force, introduced in 2004 during the BNP-led alliance government’s tenure, has come under scathing criticism for involvement of its members in crimes in past 10 years.
“RAB’s activities should be inspected. It should be disbanded if needed and another elite force could be formed,” Khaleda said Sunday, according to a news agency.
Her remarks came in the backdrop of several RAB officers’ alleged involvement in the recent abduction and murder of seven people in Narayanganj.
She was speaking with journalists after visiting the family of a missing BNP leader at his house in Dhaka’s Shahinbagh.
Several men identifying themselves as RAB officers took away General Secretary of BNP's Ward number 38 unit Sajedul Islam Sumon, his family alleges.
Since its inception in 2004, RAB has been censured for committing extrajudicial killings. But Khaleda government that governed the country from 2001 to 2006 rooted for the elite force’s continuation.
Recently, BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fahkrul Islam Alamgir also questioned RAB’s necessity, drawing protests from ruling Awami League leaders.
State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal also rejected the idea of disbanding the elite force.