The Bangladesh Nationalist Party recommended the abolition of the Rapid Action Battalion, citing allegations of human rights violations and extrajudicial killings.
It made the recommendation to the Police Reform Committee the interim government has recently formed.
BNP standing committee member retired major Hafizuddin Ahmed came up with the recommendation at a press conference on Tuesday at the party chairperson鈥檚 office at Gulshan in the capital.
Mentioning that the force already faced harsh criticism at home and abroad, he said that the RAB became a 鈥榤onster鈥� in the eyes of the country鈥檚 people.
鈥榃e recommend the RAB鈥檚 abolition for their involvement in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances and we believe that its abolition would send a positive message to people,鈥� he added.
Hafiz also said that necessary measures could be taken to enable the police force along with its specialised forces, including the Armed Police Battalion, to carry out the responsibilities of the Rapid Action Battalion.
He further said that both local and international human rights organisations, the United Nations, most political parties, and the public blamed the RAB for most of the incidents of enforced disappearances, killings, torture and repression.
Hafiz at the briefing also referred to the United States鈥� sanctioning of the force over allegations of human rights violation.
The Rapid Action Battalion was founded on March 26, 2004 during the BNP-led four-party alliance government to curb organised crimes and terrorism.
Since its very establishment the force had remained under intense scrutiny, facing serious allegations of human rights violations.
The party also gave other reform recommendations, including forming a police commission, to the Police Reform Commission.
It has suggested formation of an eight-member Police Commission headed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs chairman to properly guide, advise and support the police force.
One of its recommendations is to form a citizen committee in every upazila or police station jurisdiction to support the police in combating crimes at the local level, improving public-police relations, and giving advice on maintaining law and order.
The chair of the committee would be an eminent person of the respective area and the officer-in-charge of the police station concerned would be its member secretary, the BNP suggested as the possible structure of its proposed citizen committees.
They also recommended strengthening of community policing, saying that community policing would reduce various crimes and social unrest, help bridge the gap between the police and the public, and increase public awareness.
Hafiz further said that after the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, a total of 488 police officers took shelter at the cantonment who he said were involved with enforced disappearances, killings and corruption.
The army did not do the right thing by giving them shelter as they were offenders, the retired serviceman said.
Enforced disappearances, killings and repression of the opposition people perpetrated by the Awami regime turned the country into a 鈥榩olice state鈥�, he added.