New Security Chiefs Appointed

The government has reshuffled the leadership of three of Bangladesh’s most important policing and security units, appointing new heads to the Rapid Action Battalion, the Special Branch, and the Criminal Investigation Department. The changes were announced on Monday, 16 March 2026, through separate notifications issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and signed by Deputy Secretary Towshif Ahmed of Police Branch-1.

Under the new appointments, Ahsan Habib Palash, who had been serving as Deputy Inspector General of the Chattogram Range, has been named Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion. Sardar Nurul Amin, previously Additional Inspector General at Police Headquarters in charge of Human Resource Management, has been made chief of the Special Branch. At the same time, Additional Inspector General Mosleh Uddin Ahmed has been appointed as the new head of the Criminal Investigation Department.

The latest shake-up is significant because these three bodies play distinct but highly sensitive roles in the country’s law-enforcement structure. The Rapid Action Battalion is one of the best-known specialised forces, often involved in major security operations and high-profile raids. The Special Branch is responsible for intelligence gathering and security vetting, while the Criminal Investigation Department handles complex criminal inquiries, forensic work, and investigations into organised crime and other serious offences. A coordinated leadership change across all three institutions therefore signals an important administrative decision at the top level of the security establishment. This also suggests that the government is seeking to realign command in some of its most strategically important policing arms.

Although the official notifications focused on the postings themselves and did not publicly elaborate on the policy reasoning behind the move, such changes typically attract attention because they can influence operational priorities, intelligence coordination, and the handling of major investigations. Leadership transitions in these agencies are often closely watched by officials, analysts, and the public alike, especially when they involve multiple key units at once. Reports published on Monday described the appointments as part of a broader change in important police positions.

Key appointments

The appointments took effect through official government orders issued on 16 March 2026, marking a notable day of change in Bangladesh’s law-enforcement leadership.