SRB Gets First Case
The renamed police unit that replaced RAB has been handed its very first criminal investigation. A Dhaka court ordered SRB to probe a house-grabbing and extortion complaint from Mirpur.
In a Nutshell
- A Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate court ordered the Special Response Battalion (SRB) to investigate a house-grabbing and extortion case filed on September 20, marking SRB's first-ever case assignment.
- Complainant Mizanur Rahman (alias Bacchu) accused Hemayet Uddin Sumon, Md. Nazmul Hossain, and Munni Akter Mishty of trying to seize a Mirpur Housing Estate building owned by his nephew and niece, who live in Canada.
- The accused allegedly forced their way into the property on July 16, 2025, issued death threats when stopped, and later demanded 5 million taka in extortion money.
- When the family refused to pay, the accused reportedly vandalized the house and took 200,000 taka in cash.
- The magistrate cited Section 5(2) of the SRB Act, which lets courts direct the SRB Director General to investigate any criminal offense, and Section 10(গ), which covers land-related crimes, ordering an investigation by an officer no lower than sub-inspector rank.
Context
Parliament passed the Special Response Battalion Act, 2026 on September 10, formally dissolving RAB after years of controversy over extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The gazette was published on September 15, and SRB began operations the next day, inheriting RAB's manpower, funds, assets, and even a nearly identical logo, just with "SRB Bangladesh" replacing "RAB". Opposition lawmakers and rights groups, including The Daily Star, have openly questioned whether this is genuine reform or "same RAB in new garb".
Why it matters
This first case is an early test of whether SRB will function differently from RAB in practice, not just in name. Land grabbing and extortion are common complaints in Dhaka's housing markets, especially against overseas Bangladeshis who cannot personally protect their property, so how SRB handles this case could shape public trust in the new force. The government has positioned SRB as a specialized unit with a narrower legal mandate, focused on drugs, cybercrime, and land crimes, rather than RAB's broader and more controversial counterterrorism role, but critics warn the same personnel and command culture could carry over unchanged.
What we think
Watch how SRB actually investigates this case, not just that it was assigned one. If the outcome and conduct look identical to old RAB-era policing, that would support critics who call this rebranding rather than reform.