The successful Investigation of several important/high-profile cases and a strong focus on tackling Left Wing Extremism (LWE) marked a year of many highs for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has delivered a record 100% conviction rate for 2024.
A total of 210 accused were arrested across key categories of crimes in 80 cases registered by NIA in 2024. Of these cases, Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and North East insurgency topped the list at 28 and 18 cases. Seven J&K Jihadi cases were followed by 6 Explosive Substances and 5 Human Trafficking cases. NIA further registered 4 Other Jihadi cases, 4 Khalistan and 2 ISIS Jihadi cases, and 1 case each in Gangsters, Cyber Terrorism, FICN and Others categories.
NIA’s impressive performance for 2024 was marked by convictions of 68 accused (in 25 cases) and charge sheeting of 408 accused. A total of 137 properties/assets worth Rs 19.57 crore were attached during the year as part of the agency’s sustained efforts to dismantle the various terrorist, gangster and other criminal networks.
Left Wing Extremism remained under NIA’s scanner throughout the year, leading to the maximum of 69 arrests of the total 210 arrests reported in 2024. Twenty eight cases of LWE were registered, and 12 chargesheets filed against 64 accused in this category.
North-east insurgency was also high on NIA’s radar with 15 arrests. The Independence Day boycott call by ULFA(I) in Assam saw the arrest of 5 accused in two separate cases. The call had been given on 14th August by Paresh Baruah, commander-in-chief of the banned terrorist organisation. This was followed, the next day, by a press release issued by Ishan Asom, 2nd Lieutenant cum Assistant Publicity Secretary of ULFA(I), that 19 IEDs had been planted across various parts of Assam, leading to a situation of panic among the people of the state.
The crackdown on the growing terrorist-gangster was also a key highlight of the year. NIA arrested 14 accused in connection with foreign-based Khalistani terrorist cases during the year, which saw 101 searches being conducted in these cases. The total searches carried out across all kinds of cases in 2024 stood at 662. Thirteen arrests were made in gangster related cases during the year.
The agency’s agile efforts in cracking terrorism cases were evident in the fact that it had charge sheeted Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Wadhawa Singh @ Babbar and five other terrorists in the murder of VHP leader Vikas Prabhakar @ Vikas Bagga in Punjab within months of the fatal attack. Similarly, 10 accused, including foreign-based terrorist Goldy Brar, were expeditiously charge sheeted in the case pertaining to firing for extortion at the house of a businessman in Chandigarh by aides of Brar. Early in the year, NIA had also charge sheeted Khalistan Terrorist Force (KTF) members Manpreet Singh alias Peeta and Mandeep Singh, after their successful deportation from Philippines.
NIA further secured the conviction of four terrorists, including chief conspirator Kulwinderjeet Singh @Khanpuria, in a terror conspiracy case related to the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) outfit. Khanpuria was involved in many terrorist cases, including a bomb blast at Connaught Place and a grenade attack at Red Fort, Delhi, in the nineties. He was also wanted in many terrorist cases, including a conspiracy to carry out targeted killings in Punjab.
Another notable development in the Khalistani terror related cases was the successful extradition of Tarsem Singh Sandhu of Tarn Taran district of Punjab from UAE, in a case of conspiracy of KLF, BKI & ISYF to wage war against the country. As far as extraditions secured by NIA are concerned, another accused, Salman Khan, was brought in from Rwanda in an arms seizure case of Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Arms seizure emerged as a key milestone in NIA’s against attempts by anti-national forces to unleash violence in the country. Cases of weapons recovery and seizure were reported from across the country, including Jammu, Jaipur, Ranchi, Patna, and Chandigarh. Notable among these was the seizure, in Jammu, of arms/ammunition and other incriminating materials from a car driver working as an overground worker (OGW) of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorist outfit. As many as 2 hand grenades, 34 9mm pistol rounds, 1 Chinese pistol, 1 Turkish pistol, 20 Chinese pistol rounds and 1 pistol silencer were recovered in this case. A massive haul of 5 rifles, 6 pistols, 1 revolver, 215 rounds ammunition, 5 detonators, 2 packets of gun powder, 75 fired empty cartridges & 75 Kgs of suspected explosive substance were also seized in a case of illegal supply of arms, ammunition and explosives to operatives in NE states and insurgent groups based across the international border
The arrest of 11 ISIS Jihadis, 5 J&K Jihadis and 24 other Jihadis marked another major step forward for the agency.
The anti-terror agency scaled up its operations multifold in 2024, cracking the Rameshwaram café blast case, which rocked the nation early in the year, within a matter of months. With five accused already arrested and four charge sheeted in this high-profile case, NIA once again proved its ability to solve tough cases with speed and agility, backed by technical and field investigations in coordination with various state police forces and other agencies.
A total of 27 absconding criminals were nabbed by NIA during the year. Notable among them was Savad, who was nabbed after being on the run for 13 years in the Kerala Professor hand chopping case.
Other key absconders arrested during the year included Mohammed Sahjalal Haldar and Idris in a Bengaluru case relating to human trafficking from Myanmar into India, Shokat Ali @ Shaukat Ali in the Jaipur customs gold seizure case, and Mohammed Mustafa & Kodaje Mohammed Sherif in BJP leader Praveen Nattaru murder case. The arrest of absconder Kamran Haider in the Laos human trafficking and cyber slavery case signified NIA’s concerted focus on destroying the chain behind this criminal activity, which has led to several innocent youth being trapped on foreign land by unscrupulous elements.
A key aspect of the speedy action and breakthroughs in the Rameshwaram café blast and other major cases was the stellar role played by the intelligence agencies and the concerned state police forces. NIA coordinated closely with them throughout the year, working in a spirit of team work and sharing information on a continuous basis to crack various important cases with speed and alacrity.
As part of its efforts to enhance the capacity of the state police forces, NIA also engaged in their capacity building, providing training to 1,678 state police officials through 11 training programmes/courses in 2024. At the same time, given the growing scale and magnitude of major terror related and other serious crimes with the potential to disrupt India’s peace and harmony, NIA made significant efforts during the year to strengthen its own capacities. The establishment of two new exclusive NIA courts, one each in Jammu and Ranchi, was an important step in this direction. NIA also released a handbook on UA(P)A investigations to bring standardisation into the probing of terror cases.
