United News of Bangladesh

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have arrested three accused in connection with the sensational killing of a Leguna driver in the capital’s Jatrabari area. According to the case statement, two to three days prior to the incident, an altercation took place between accused Md Hridoy Hossain, 24, and the victim, laguna driver Md Nure Alam Islam alias Khairul, 35, over picking up passengers at a laguna stand on the Jatrabari-Chittagong Road route. During the altercation, the accused allegedly threatened the victim in various ways. When the victim was driving his laguna and reached in front of Sufia Garments on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway under Kutubkhali area of Jatrabari Police Station (DMP) on February 20, at around 2:45pm, Hridoy Hossain and his associates allegedly attacked him in a premeditated manner, leaving him critically injured, said Senior SS Hasan Siddiqi, Company Commander of CPU Jatrabari Camp under Rab-10. He was later taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where the on-duty doctor declared him dead, senior ASP Hasan Siddiqi added. Following the incident, a murder case was filed with Jatrabari Police Station under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). In continuation of the drive, a team of RAB-10, CPC-1 Jatrabari Camp, conducted a special operation in the Kutubkhali Fish Market area under Jatrabari Police Station on February 21 at around 7:30pm and arrested the fifth accused named in the case, Md Sohan Munshi, 29, within 12 hours of filing the case. RAB-10 continued its efforts to arrest the remaining accused. Later, on February 23 at around 3:45pm, the first accused named in the case, Md Hridoy Hossain, 24, was arrested from Dayaganj intersection under Gendaria Police Station (DMP). On the same day at around 4:20pm, the third accused named in the case, Md Shakil, 29, was arrested from Mir Hazirbagh Pipe Road area under Jatrabari Police Station. The arrested accused have been handed over to the concerned police station for further legal action.

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion(RAB) have arrested the prime accused in a case over the killing of a Laguna driver in the capital’s Jatrabari area. The arrestee was Sohan Munshi, 29, son of Shahjahan Munshi, a resident of Baherchar village under Madaripur Sadar upazila in Madaripur district. According to Rab-10 sources, Sohan Munshi, along with several associates, attacked Laguna driver Md Nur-e-Alam Islam, also known as Khairul, 35, at a Laguna stand on the Jatrabari–Chattogram Road following a dispute over vehicle serial at 2:45pm on Friday. The injured driver was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors on duty declared him dead. Following the incident, a murder case was filed with Jatrabari Police Station on Saturday. A team of Rab-10, CPC-1, Jatrabari Camp conducted a special operation using modern information technology and arrested the accused from the Kutubkhali Fish Wholesale Market area under Jatrabari Police Station at around 7:30pm on Saturday, said Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Tapash Kormokar, media officer of Rab-10. The arrestee was later handed over to the concerned police station for further legal proceedings.

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Tuesday said any kind of chaos at polling stations will be dealt with strictly, as armed forces members are being allowed inside polling stations for the first time. “Any disruption at polling centers will be dealt with strictly. There will be no tolerance for anyone trying to obstruct the election,” he said while talking to reporters after a views-exchange meeting on law and order ahead of the national election at Faridpur Deputy Commissioner office. Officials from five districts of greater Faridpur including district administration, police, army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and election officers attended the meeting. Vote-buying proves Jamaat’s political bankruptcy, code violation: Mahdi Amin The Home Affairs Adviser said the law-and-order situation is under control and the election is expected to be peaceful. “In Bangladesh history, no election has seen the deployment of so many law enforcement personnel. This election is being conducted more smoothly than ever before. I seek everyone’s prayers,” he added. Responding to questions on women wearing burqas at polling stations, he said the Election Commission has clarified the rules. Female Ansar members will be present at each polling station to take necessary action, if needed.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members recovered 6.27 kilograms of gunpowder and bomb-making materials in Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj district on Sunday night. According to a press release sent by RAB-5 on Monday morning, those were seized from a mustard field in Parghorapakhia area. No one was arrested in this connection, it said. RAB recovers five looted grenades from Dhaka’s Demra RAB said tipped off, a team conducted a drive around 10 pm on Sunday in the area and found 6.27 kilograms of gunpowder, 1.7 kilograms of small stones, 1.4 kilograms of glass powder, 385 grams of iron nails, 12 red-colored costepes, 31 plastic jars, and 29 gas lighters abandoned in three polythene packets. The seized explosives and materials were handed over to Shibganj Police Station for investigation.

The government has decided to rename the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) as Special Intervention Force (SIF). Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury announced the decision on Tuesday following a meeting of the law-and-order core committee at the Bangladesh Secretariat. RAB, an elite law enforcement unit in Bangladesh, was formed for combating serious crimes, terrorism, and organised criminal activities in 2003. Operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs, RAB is a composite force made up of personnel from the Police, Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Ansar. The force has played a crucial role in counter-terrorism operations, anti-drug campaigns, and high-profile criminal investigations across the country. Govt to buy 163 vehicles for RAB directly from Pragati Industries RAB was established on July 12, 2003, under the Armed Police Battalion (Amendment) Act, 2003, which amended the Armed Forces Battalion Ordinance of 1979. Since its inception, RAB has faced criticism from human rights organisations over alleged extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.  

The government has decided to procure vehicles for the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) through the direct purchase method without inviting tenders, approving the acquisition of three jeeps, 100 patrol pickup trucks and 60 air-conditioned microbuses from state-owned Pragati Industries Limited. The decision was given a policy-level approval at a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Economic Affairs held at the Secretariat on Tuesday, with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair. The procurement will be carried out under the project titled ‘Enhancement of Operational Capability of RAB Forces (1st Revised)’, aimed at strengthening the operational capacity of the elite force by addressing its vehicle shortage. RAB raids Gazipur fake currency factory, arrests three Briefing journalists after the meeting, Adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said the committee approved the proposal to procure the vehicles through the direct purchase method instead of the Open Tender Method (OTM). Responding to questions on the rationale behind the decision, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Nasimul Gani said the government intended to keep public funds within state-owned entities. “Pragati Industries is the country’s first automobile manufacturing company and it is a fully state-owned one. That is why we have decided to procure the vehicles from this organisation,” he said. When asked whether the vehicles would be delivered ahead of the upcoming national election, Nasimul Ghani clarified that the approval was not an election-driven one. “Only policy approval has been given today. The procurement process will take time and the vehicles will arrive much later, in phases. This is merely a formal decision. After placing the order, Pragati will import the required components from Japan using the allocated funds,” he added. Sources present at the meeting said the Ministry of Home Affairs placed the proposal for procuring the vehicles directly under the revised RAB capacity enhancement project, which subsequently received policy approval from the committee. The project was originally approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on November 7, 2018, with an implementation period from December 1, 2018 to January 31, 2026. The initiative aims to enhance RAB’s effectiveness and modernise its operations by addressing logistical constraints, particularly the shortage of vehicles. Officials informed the meeting that the vehicles are urgently required in the 2025–26 fiscal year. As procurement through the OTM is time-consuming, the direct purchase method has been proposed under Section 68 of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2006, citing state emergency needs. The move is intended to ensure effective law and order management and maintain operational readiness ahead of the national parliamentary election. The day’s Economic Affairs Committee meeting approved another proposal in principle to withdraw the project titled ‘Construction of Multimodal Hub at Dhaka Bimanbandar Railway Station’ from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project list. The proposal was placed by the Ministry of Railways. Following detailed discussions, the committee recommended the proposal for approval in principle. The project had earlier received in-principle approval at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on October 17, 2018 for implementation under the PPP framework. However, officials said the identified land was insufficient for the project’s requirements, no transaction adviser was appointed for feasibility studies, and no significant progress had been made, prompting the decision to withdraw it from the PPP list. The Power and Energy Adviser said there were a total of five agenda items in the meeting for discussions. Among them, one proposal came from the Ministry of Agriculture, one from the Ministry of Home Affairs, one from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, and two proposals from the Ministry of Railways. He said the first proposal was related to providing regular subsidies to farmers affected by damage to potato cultivation. “The proposal has been sent back for further examination to ensure that the subsidy reaches genuine farmers through an appropriate mechanism,” Besides, a proposal by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division to transport gas in LNG form from Bhola via inland waterways for direct supply to industrial establishments under Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution PLC through the Bangladesh Navy was withdrawn from the meeting.  

A case has been filed in connection with the murder of a Rab official in a gun attack by armed criminals at Jungle Salimpur in Sitakunda of Chattogram. The case was filed against 29 identified and 150-200 unidentified people with Sitakunda Police Station on Wednesday night, said Shakila Yasmin Suchona, additional superintendent (Sitakunda Circle) of Chattogram Police. Yeasin, a suspected criminal and also a resident of Jungle Salimpur, was made the prime accused in the case. So far, three people - Zahid, Yunus and Arif- have been arrested in connection with the incident. Police are interrogating the arrestees, said Officer-in-Charge of Sitakunda Police Station, Mohinul Islam. Motaleb Hossain, a Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) of RAB-7 was killed and three others were injured in a gun attack by armed criminals during a drive to recover illegal arms in the hilly area of Jungle Salimpur in Sitakunda on January 19.

An officer of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) was killed and three others were injured in a gun attack by armed criminals while recovering weapons in the hilly area of Jungle Salimpur in Sitakunda on Monday evening (January 19, 2026). The deceased was identified as Abdul Motaleb, a Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) of RAB-7. Read more: Chankharpul massacre verdict on Tuesday; BTV to air live Three other officials- Lance Naik Imam, Naik Arif, and Constable Rifat- were critically injured and admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), said Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops) Sirajul Islam. Md Sohel Rana, in-charge of the Sitakunda Fouzdarhat Police Outpost, said RAB-7 came under the gun attack by armed criminals during the arms recovery drive. He said Jungle Salimpur is a remote hilly area where thousands of illegal settlements have grown over the past four decades on government and khas land. The region has long served as a safe haven for hill grabbers, armed criminals, and land mafias. The area is reportedly still controlled by armed groups, making entry for outsiders extremely difficult, added the in-charge. Read more: Justice trails shadows; RAB arrests suspect in brutal Banasree murder

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members arrested a fugitive convict from Ashulia in Savar on Wednesday night. Jamshed Hossain, 46, a resident of Nazirpur village under Bauphal upazila in Patuakhali district, was sentenced to life term imprisonment in a case six years back, said Officer-in-Charge of Savar Police Station Arman Ali said. Read more: Operation Devil Hunt Phase-2: 67 arrested in 24 hours in Dhaka He was arrested in a joint operation conducted by RAB-8, CPC-1 Patuakhali Camp and RAB-4, CPC-2 Nabinagar Camp based on secret information. After arrest, Jamshed was handed over to Savar Police Station for taking legal action.

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), in a drive on Wednesday, rescued an eighth-grade schoolgirl who was abducted from Khulna on January 1, from Dakkhin Surma upazila of Sylhet. The elite force also arrested Shohagh Mia, 29, son of Nur Islam of Chhatak upazila in Sunamganj district, from the spot. According to RAB, the victim went to school on January 1 but did not return home, said KM Shahidul Islam, Additional Superintendent of Police (Media Officer) of RAB-9. Read more: Child kidnapped using ’devil breath’ in Dhaka rescued: 3 held Failing to trace the girl, her family later learned that three to four unidentified assailants had forcibly abducted her from the Phulbari Gate bus stand under Khanjahan Ali Police Station in Khulna and taken her away in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw. Later, the victim’s father filed a case with Khanjahan Ali Police Station.