The decision was made at a meeting held last week at the RAB headquarters, chaired by its chief
The Rapid Action Battalion authorities have decided not to engage its personnel in any additional duties including search, guard or patrol in addition to the duties the elite force has been tasked with.
“In future, RAB will not perform the duties additional to the seven specific duties we are tasked with, unless the government asks us or we feel so,” Wing Commander ATM Habibur Rahman, director of RAB’s legal and media wing, said.
The decision was made at a meeting held last week at the RAB headquarters, chaired by its chief.
“We feel that guarding tender boxes, controlling traffic, setting up check posts at entrances of the capitals, intervening in issues relating to land, money and family matters, and guarding cultural functions are not part of our duties,” he said.
“Now RAB will concentrate to its own tasks,” Habib said.
Asked about the reasons behind making such a decision, the RAB official said: “Additional duties create extra problems. Sometimes a section of RAB officials get involved in illicit acts causing image crisis for the whole force.”
In response to another query, he admitted that the seven murders in Narayanganj prompted them to make such a decision.
The elite force was formed in 2004 during the BNP-led alliance government’s tenure to combat domestic crimes and terrorism, and given seven specific tasks. Those are – internal security duties; recovery of unauthorised arms, ammunitions, explosives and similar items; apprehending armed gangs of criminals; assisting other law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order; intelligence gathering regarding crimes and criminal activities; investigation of any offence upon the directives of the government; and similar duties following the government’s directives.
RAB, a special police unit, has widely been criticised for violating human rights and extrajudicial killings in the name of “crossfire, gunfights and encounter,” custodial deaths and torture.
The alleged involvement of its three officers in the abduction and killing of seven men in Narayanganj last month triggered calls for reforms within the force and even disbanding the outfit entirely.
So far, around 2,000 of its members penalised in the last 10 years.
RAB has members from six forces – the three armed forces, the police, the BGB and the Ansar – and some civil officials.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
