From 2004 to September 2026, a total of 2,957 people died in “crossfire” or alleged “gunfights” with the country’s law enforcement agencies, according to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). The most deaths came in police operations: 1,371 people, about 46 percent of the total. The second-highest number came in operations by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
ASK confirmed the figures in statistics released on Tuesday, October 27.
An analysis of the ASK figures shows that 1,200 people were killed by RAB in “crossfire” or alleged “gunfights” in the period. Another 69 died in similar incidents in joint police and RAB operations. In all, 2,640 people were killed by police, RAB and their joint operations.
These deaths in law enforcement operations over a long period have raised many questions about human rights and extrajudicial killings. There have been repeated disputes over law enforcers’ accounts of incidents described as “crossfire” or “gunfights” and what actually happened. ASK’s figures, however, mainly record the number of deaths documented over time; establishing the circumstances of, or responsibility for, each incident needs separate investigation and judicial process.
According to data based on ASK’s annual reports, no death at the hands of police or RAB in “crossfire” or alleged “gunfights” has been recorded since 2024. After such deaths were documented for so long, their absence in recent years stands out as a significant change in the statistics.
That does not mean there have been no such deaths in other law enforcement operations since 2024. ASK’s data show that deaths in alleged “gunfights” were still recorded in operations by other forces.
According to the figures, one person was killed in a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) operation in 2024. In 2025, one death in a gunfight with the Coast Guard was reported. And up to September 2026, one person was killed in an operation by the Department of Narcotics Control. So while no such deaths were recorded at the hands of police and RAB, the killings have not stopped entirely in the case of other forces.
According to ASK, a total of 2,957 people were killed in “crossfire” or alleged “gunfights” in operations by police, RAB, their joint operations and other law enforcement agencies from 2004 to September 2026. Police operations account for the most deaths, RAB operations come second, and deaths in joint operations and operations by other forces are also included in the long-term figures.
The Rapid Action Battalion is now known as the Special Response Battalion (SRB). The 22-year figures give an overall picture of deaths in law enforcement operations in the country, and underline the importance of transparent investigation, accountability and proper application of the law.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report