DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) emerged as India’s most formidable shield against terrorism and organised crime in 2025, delivering an extraordinary conviction rate of over 92 percent while dismantling multiple terror networks operating across and beyond India’s borders.
From cracking the deadly Pahalgam terror attack and the Delhi Red Fort area car blast, to achieving the historic extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks plotter Tahawwur Rana from the United States, the NIA’s year-end record reads like a decisive counter-offensive against anti-national forces.
One of the most consequential breakthroughs of the year came in April 2025, when Tahawwur Rana key conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people was extradited from the US to India. The extradition marked a turning point in India’s long pursuit of justice for one of the country’s darkest terror chapters and underscored the NIA’s growing global clout in counter-terror diplomacy and legal coordination.
The NIA wrapped up its investigation into the April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack, which had stunned the nation, by filing a comprehensive chargesheet against seven accused, including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy outfit The Resistance Front (TRF). Among those named were the three terrorists responsible for religion-based targeted killings, all of whom were later neutralised by security forces.
The probe conclusively established cross-border terror orchestration, reinforcing Pakistan’s continued use of proxy terror groups to destabilise India.
In another major success, the NIA made rapid headway in the Delhi Red Fort area car blast case, arresting nine accused within two months of the attack that killed 11 people and injured several others. The swift crackdown highlighted the agency’s improved intelligence integration and operational speed.
The year also saw decisive action against organised crime-terror nexuses. The NIA secured the deportation of gangster Anmol Bishnoi, brother and close associate of Lawrence Bishnoi, from the US. Absconding since 2022, Anmol is now facing prosecution for conspiring with transnational criminal syndicates to execute terror activities in Delhi and other parts of India.
Simultaneously, nationwide searches and crackdowns particularly in cases linked to designated Khalistani terrorists such as Goldy Brar led to 200 arrests, dealing a major blow to overseas-backed extremist networks.
With the Centre targeting a Naxal-free India by March 31, 2026, the NIA intensified operations against Left Wing Extremism (LWE). In 2025 alone, the agency took up nine LWE investigations, chargesheeted 34 top cadres and leaders, and worked in close coordination with state police and central forces like the CRPF to choke terror financing and logistics.
In 2025, the NIA:
- Registered 55 cases
- Arrested 276 accused across terror, LWE, Khalistan, gangster and insurgency cases
- Chargesheeted 320 accused
- Secured 66 convictions
- Attached 12 properties/assets linked to terrorists and criminals
Beyond terrorism, the agency made significant inroads into human trafficking syndicates, including those exploiting the infamous ‘dunki’ route, cross-border trafficking of Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals, and cases of Indian youth forced into cyber slavery in Laos and Cambodia’s Golden Triangle region.
The NIA also intensified action against Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) networks and Pakistan-linked espionage operations, securing convictions in the 2019 Vishakhapatnam Navy espionage case.
Throughout the year, the NIA maintained sustained pressure on ISIS, Al-Qaeda, HuT and other Jihadi outfits, cracking down on radicalisation, recruitment modules and terror plots across multiple states, including cases linked to Pahalgam and Delhi.
Recognising the evolving nature of terror and crime, the NIA introduced major technological upgrades, including:
- A Lost/Looted Government Weapons Database
- An Organised Crime Network Database for real-time inter-agency sharing
- Advanced cryptocurrency investigation workshops to tackle terror financing via digital assets
Infrastructure expansion and capacity-building remained central to the agency’s long-term strategy.
