The National Investigation Agency (NIA) achieved a 100 per cent conviction rate in 2024, with 68 accused convicted in the 25 cases decided by the special NIA courts across the country.
A total of 210 defendants were arrested in key crime categories: left-wing extremismnortheastern insurgency, Khalistani terrorismnexus between gangsters, terrorists and smugglers, etc., in 80 cases registered by the NIA in 2024. The agency carried out a total of 662 raids and searches across the country.
Last year was marked by the conviction of 68 defendants (in 25 cases) and the filing of charges against 408 defendants. The NIA got 137 properties/assets worth Rs 19.57 crore attached during 2024.
In terms of cases recorded by the NIA during the year, those linked to left-wing extremism and northeast insurgency topped the list with 28 and 18 cases respectively. Seven cases related to terrorism in J&K and four involving Khalistani elements were also filed.
As many as 69 of the total 210 arrests made by the NIA were in left-wing extremism cases.
The northeast insurgency also featured prominently on the NIA’s radar with 15 arrests, of which 5 were in two cases related to the Independence Day boycott call made by the Parsh Baruah-led ULFA(I) in Assam.
The crackdown on the growing terrorist gangster was also a highlight of the year. The NIA arrested 14 accused in connection with overseas-based Khalistani terrorism cases during the year, in which 101 searches and 13 arrests were made in these cases.
The agency’s nimble efforts in cracking terrorism cases were evident in the fact that it had filed charges against Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Wadhawa Singh @ Babbar and five other terrorists for 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 swiftly charged in the case related to extortion dismissal at a businessman’s house in Chandigarh by Brar’s aides. Earlier in the year, the NIA had also filed charges against Khalistan Terrorist Force (KTF) members Manpreet Singh alias Peeta and Mandeep Singh after their successful deportation from the Philippines.
Another notable development in the Khalistani terrorism related cases was the successful extradition of Tarsem Singh Sandhu from Tarn Taran district of Punjab from the UAE, in a case of conspiracy by KLF, BKI and ISYF to wage war against the country . As far as the extraditions obtained by the NIA are concerned, another accused, Salman Khan, was brought from Rwanda in a weapons seizure case in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The NIA seized weapons across the country, including places like Jammu, Jaipur, Ranchi, Patna and Chandigarh.
The anti-terror agency multiplied its operations in 2024, solving in a matter of months the Rameshwaram cafe explosion case, which shook the country at the beginning of the year.
The NIA nabbed a total of 27 fugitive criminals during the year. Prominent among them was Savad, who was nabbed after being on the run for 13 years in the Kerala professor’s hands-cutting case.