Opposition MPs raise 7 objections to Special Response Battalion Bill

Opposition members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs have raised seven major objections to the Special Response Battalion (SRB) Bill, warning that the proposed force could become a continuation of RAB under a new name.

Committee Chairman Zainul Abedin placed the report before parliament today, with the opposition members' objections attached as notes of dissent. The committee itself recommended adding only one word and a bracket to the bill.

The dissent note was signed by Chapainawabganj-3 MP Md Nurul Islam and Dhaka-16 MP Md Abdul Baten.

They urged the government not to rush the bill without wider consultation with law enforcement officials, magistrates, prosecutors, lawyers, victims' families, political parties and human rights organisations.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed placed the bill in Parliament on 3 September before it was sent to the committee for scrutiny.

Under the proposed law, RAB would be dissolved and the SRB formed as a specialised police unit using personnel drawn from police and other disciplined forces.

The opposition members pointed to Section 27(3), which provides for transferring RAB's personnel, establishments, powers, records, assets, contracts and liabilities directly to the SRB.

They warned that without major changes in rules, oversight and operations, the new force could be viewed domestically and internationally as a continuation of RAB.

Safeguards for RAB records

The dissent note also sought stronger safeguards for RAB records during the transition.

Opposition MPs called for deployment orders, duty rosters, operation records, custody registers, vehicle and wireless logs, electronic data, CCTV footage and arms registers to be preserved and properly inventoried.

They also proposed making the concealment, alteration, removal or destruction of such records an offence and allowing courts, prosecutors, tribunals and authorised investigators access to them.

Independent complaints mechanism

The MPs questioned the independence of the complaints committee proposed under Section 24, as both its chairman and member-secretary would be SRB officials.

They proposed that the committee instead be headed by a retired High Court judge nominated by the chief justice and include representatives from the National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Bar Council, human rights groups and the National Press Club.

The committee should also have powers to conduct unannounced inspections, examine custody records and interview detainees and SRB members separately, they said.

Oversight and detention rules

The opposition MPs said the bill gives the SRB powers of arrest, search, seizure and criminal investigation without requiring regular external reporting.

They proposed monthly reports to the chief judicial magistrate or chief metropolitan magistrate, with copies sent to the relevant superintendent of police or police commissioner.

They also sought clear limits on where and for how long civilians could be detained, along with gazetting all SRB offices, camps, holding cells and interrogation rooms and maintaining detailed custody registers.

Training, protection from unlawful orders

The dissent note proposed mandatory training before SRB members exercise arrest, search or investigation powers. Members coming from forces other than police should receive at least two months of conversion training on criminal procedure, evidence, arrest, search, seizure, case diaries and court testimony.

The MPs also sought legal protection for personnel who refuse unlawful orders or report misconduct, including safeguards against punitive transfers, blocked promotions and exclusion from foreign or UN missions.

They further proposed introducing a common code of conduct and disciplinary rules for the SRB within six months and repealing the 2005 RAB rules once the new framework takes effect.