In 2022, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered 73 instances, including 35 incidents of Jihadi terror, a 19.67% rise from the 61 cases registered in 2021 and the greatest number in the previous three years.
In 2019 and 2020, the bureau filed approximately 60 cases per year, according to officials.
“We have recorded 73 cases in 2022, which is a 19.67% rise from the 61 cases recorded in 2021 and a record for the NIA. These cases include 35 cases of Jihadi terror in states such as J&K, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal, 11 other cases in J&K, 10 cases related to Left Wing Extremism (LWE), five cases related to insurgents in the northeast, seven cases related to the Popular Front of India (PFI), four of Punjab, three cases of
“The NIA has filed 59 chargesheets against 368 individuals in 2022, and verdicts have been rendered in 38 instances, all of which resulted in a conviction. In total, 109 individuals have been sentenced to strict imprisonment and/or a fine. In addition, six life sentences have been issued. The current global conviction rate is 94.39 percent. Eight individuals have been identified as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is taking action against them, a spokesperson said.
This month, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told the Lok Sabha, “Until December 15, the NIA has registered 497 cases, and the reason for the increase in cases over the years is the agency’s increased capacity with the establishment of new branch offices and the expansion of its mandate in 2019 by the addition of certain offences.” From 2019 to 2022 (as of December 15), the NIA has rendered judgement in 67 instances, with convictions in 65 and acquittals in two. This demonstrates the agency’s commitment to fairness and transparency in its investigations.
Officials stated that the NIA is collaborating with other central investigation agencies and state police to employ an ecosystem-wide strategy to dismantle terrorist networks that seek to harm India.
Officials reported that the NIA is compiling a database of FIRs, investigations, and Supreme Court judgements pertaining to terror acts during the past 50 years.
“We hope that a national database on bomb blasts, terror funding, counterfeit cash, narcotics, hawala transactions, arms smuggling, and terrorism would be ready in the coming year. We are attempting to develop a database of explosive components, and the NIA is analysing this database using artificial intelligence to determine the terrorists’ methods. The study will also be valuable for training officers of the state’s ATS and criminal divisions, according to officials.
Goldy Brar, the alleged mastermind behind the slaying of Punjabi musician Sidhu Moosewala, is being extradited, according to officials who say they are in contact with the relevant authorities. The agency has discovered that he is the subject of an active Interpol arrest order and that his Canadian student visa has expired. “The NIA has apprehended 456 suspects, including 19 fugitives. Two suspects were arrested upon deportation, and one suspect was arrested following extradition, according to the spokeswoman.
Officials stated that the agency is also investigating international cases that have transnational implications and necessitate travel to that country. The NIA has thus far filed three international cases. “For such investigations, the NIA enlists the assistance of the ministry of home and external affairs, and we have and will travel to the nations with whom our investigations are associated,” authorities explained.
“According to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the NIA should take a distinct approach and not operate like a police station. According to his expectations, the NIA should adopt a strategy similar to that of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States, in which the mandates should be broader and more comprehensive with regard to terror acts and their modus operandi. In the Mundra port and Attari border drug instances, the agency was tasked with investigating and identifying loopholes, according to a top NIA official.
Amit Shah stated earlier this week, “A terror eco-system consisting of entities that enable, abet, and maintain the terrorist-separatist effort to the detriment of the average man must be demolished.”
