The Odisha Home Department has officially notified the Bhubaneswar office of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as a police station, granting it jurisdiction across the entire state.
The notification issued on May 17, 2025, designates the office of the Superintendent of Police at the NIA Police Station in Bhubaneswar as an authorised police station under Section 2(1)(u) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023). This order will take effect from the date of its publication in the Odisha Gazette.
The Bhubaneswar office will initially be established near the Tarini Mandir in VSS Nagar, Vani Vihar. This office will oversee activities related to national security throughout the state. The NIA team will promptly arrive at the location and commence investigations upon receiving information about any suspicious activity.
Once a permanent office is established, this branch will be relocated. As of now, the Home Department has not provided any specific information regarding the location of the permanent office.
Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the government would set up branches of the National Investigation Agency in all states to address terrorism cases. The Minister also urged states to collaborate with the centre to tackle borderless crimes, cross-border terrorism, and organised crime.
This significant development follows a series of counter-terrorism investigations in Odisha, including the recent high-profile arrest of popular travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra for alleged espionage activities linked to Pakistan.
Malhotra, a resident of Haryana, visited Odisha in September 2024, including a trip to the Jagannath Mandir in Puri. During her visit, she was accompanied by fellow vlogger and Puri-based content creator Priyanka Senapati.
The establishment of the NIA police station in Bhubaneswar is expected to enhance the agency’s operational capabilities in the state and streamline the investigation of terrorism-related cases and other national security threats.
It is noteworthy that in recent years, revelations of red terrorism, Islamic terrorism, and anti-India Bangladeshi networks have periodically emerged in Odisha, prompting the NIA to conduct investigations into these national security matters.
In 2015, the NIA arrested a suspect named Abdul Rehman from Paschimkachhar in the Salepur block of Cuttack district for alleged links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist organisation. He was accused of gathering intelligence from states such as Jharkhand, Bengaluru, and Uttar Pradesh and supplying it to Al-Qaeda. The NIA acted after obtaining evidence from Abdul’s phone.
Similarly, the NIA arrested five individuals, including a woman, working for the terrorist group in Rourkela. The accused—Mohammad Khalik, Amjad Khan, Zakir Khan, Mehbub Khan, and Nizam—were reportedly active on behalf of SIMI in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. The NIA has also investigated cybercrime cases involving OTP sharing with agents linked to Pakistan.
In a separate incident, Rajju Mandal from Kolkata was arrested in connection with a SIM box racket operating from a rented house in the Mangaraj Point area, under the Laxmisagar police station in Bhubaneswar. The primary mastermind of the operation, a Bangladeshi national named Ashadur Zaman, remains at large. Multiple cases have highlighted a connection between Odisha and individuals suspected of selling confidential information to enemy nations for financial gain.
Recently, a photographer at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Balasore was reportedly found leaking classified information to a Pakistani terrorist organisation.
In a similar vein, Akhtar Hussain Khan from the Samantarapur area was apprehended and questioned by the NIA due to suspicions of terrorist connections. The agency also investigated the Puri train arson incident.
Recently, the NIA began looking into a case from Cuttack involving a Bangladeshi minor allegedly being forced into immoral activities.
Additionally, the NIA dismantled a network supplying weapons to Maoists in Odisha. In December of last year, the agency conducted raids in Odisha related to allegations of arms being sent to Maoists in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. Several suspects were detained during these raids, resulting in the seizure of a substantial cache of weapons. Through these investigations, the NIA has addressed several sensitive cases in Odisha.
Experts in internal security believe that establishing an NIA branch in Odisha will significantly aid in curbing terrorist and Maoist activities. Furthermore, it will enhance surveillance and investigative mechanisms against anti-national elements.
