New Delhi [India]: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (April 21) lauded the role of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the occasion of the 13 Raising day program at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi and said the agency achieved international fame in investigating terrorism-related cases in a shorter span of 13 Years.
“Whenever there are anti-terror operations, some human rights groups raise the issue of human rights but I always consider that terrorism is the biggest cause of human rights violations. It’s imperative to eradicate terrorism from its roots to safeguard human rights,” Shah said.
The Central government is adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward terrorism and working to root out the menace from India, Shah said, adding that NIA’s actions against terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir greatly helped in curbing terrorism there.
Speaking on NIA Raising Day, the Union Minister said NIA is not only handling the important area of internal security of the country with great promptness since its formation, it has also filed 400 cases while a charge sheet was filed in 349 cases along with a conviction rate of 93.25 per cent.
“We have strengthened the agency through amendment of NIA act in 2019 and given it the right to probe cases of infiltration, Cybercrime and explosives also,” he added.
Union Minister appreciated the role of the NIA and said all the anti-terrorism agencies of the country are becoming a source of inspiration.
The period of 13 years is like a baby stage for any organization, he said, adding, “I can say that NIA has successfully built its reputation in a short span of time and has also done a good job of building its image among agencies across the world”.
“Besides mandate to probe cases of infiltration, explosive substances and cybercrime, NIA now also has the power to designate terrorists also and till now 36 persons have been declared as terrorists,” Shah said.
The minister said the NIA has tracked down many people in terror funding in the years 2021-22 who used to be ground workers in Jammu and Kashmir. It played an important role in destroying the terror sleeper cells.
“As many as 105 cases related to terror funding have been registered by NIA, chargesheets have also been filed against 94 accused while 796 have also been arrested and out of which 100 have been convicted,” Shah said. (ANI)
