Expanded Mandate and New Jammu Kashmir Infrastructure Have Strengthened NIA as ‘World-Class’ Agency, Says Govt | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: The Government has said that a sweeping expansion of the National Investigation Agency’s legal powers, manpower and physical presence, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, has been central to its plan to develop the body into what it described as a world-class counter-terrorism agency. The information was placed before the Lok Sabha on December 2 in response to an unstarred question by Dilip Saikia.

In its written reply, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the NIA, created after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks to investigate crimes affecting India’s sovereignty and security, and has undergone a major institutional strengthening. A significant part of this expansion has involved Jammu and Kashmir, where the agency’s footprint has deepened through a zonal office in Jammu and exclusive special courts for NIA cases.

The Government said the NIA Amendment Act of 2019 enabled the agency to investigate scheduled offences involving Indian citizens or Indian interests even when the crime takes place outside India. The mandate has also been enlarged to cover the Explosive Substances Act, human trafficking, cyber terrorism and offences under the Arms Act, areas of particular relevance to Jammu and Kashmir, where cross-border networks, explosive-related cases and cyber-linked radicalisation have been recurring concerns.

To expand its physical and operational reach, the Government said the NIA has opened twenty-one branch offices across the country, including a dedicated Zonal Office in Jammu to manage cases from the Union Territory and neighbouring regions. The agency also works from its head office in Delhi and another zonal office in Guwahati.

The reply further stated that the Government has designated fifty-two NIA Special Courts nationwide, three of which—located in Ranchi, Jammu and Mumbai—have been assigned exclusively to try scheduled offences investigated by the agency. The dedicated court in Jammu handles some of the agency’s most sensitive cases related to terrorism, organised networks, terror financing and cross-border linkages.

Manpower expansion has also been significant. The NIA today has 1,901 sanctioned posts, with 769 of them approved over the last five years. Officials said part of this enlargement was intended to support operations in high-intensity theatres such as Jammu and Kashmir, where the agency investigates cases involving militant organisations, terror funding channels, fake currency networks, and trafficking routes.

The Government highlighted major technological upgradation as another part of this modernisation. The National Terror Data Fusion and Analysis Centre has been set up within the NIA to support big-data analytics and digitisation of investigative procedures. Officials said this capability directly benefits probes in Jammu and Kashmir, where investigations often involve cross-border digital linkages, encrypted communication platforms and dispersed networks.

A Counter Terrorism Research Cell has replaced the earlier ISIS Investigation Research Cell, broadening its mandate to include multiple theatres of terrorism, including Pakistan-based networks frequently linked to cases originating in Jammu and Kashmir. Several exclusive divisions—covering human trafficking, cyber terrorism, financial analysis and FATF compliance—have also been created to examine the financial and digital infrastructure of militant networks.

The Government said it has strengthened the NIA’s capacity to deal with terror financing and fake currency rackets, both of which have been historically associated with cases in Jammu and Kashmir. A dedicated Terror Funding and Fake Currency Cell now functions as the nodal national body for such investigations. The agency also participates in a Joint Task Force with Bangladesh to track and disrupt high-quality fake Indian currency smuggling—networks that in the past have intersected with channels operating in and around Jammu and Kashmir.

The reply emphasised growing international cooperation. In 2022, the NIA organised the third Ministerial Conference on “No Money for Terror”, attended by delegates from seventy-eight countries and sixteen multilateral bodies. Capacity-building programmes have since been conducted with foreign agencies for NIA officers, State Police forces and Central Armed Police Forces. Police officers from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal have also been trained, including on matters connected to cross-border movement and networks that have relevance for Jammu and Kashmir.

A Foreign Investigation Request Unit was set up in 2024 to deal with cases involving foreign jurisdictions, which the Government said improves India’s ability to handle crimes with foreign footprints, a recurrent feature in several Jammu and Kashmir, related investigations. In March 2025, the NIA signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Forensic Science University to strengthen forensic skills, particularly in investigations involving explosives, communications devices, financial trails and arms recoveries.

Responding to whether the Government has taken action against organisations involved in unlawful activities over the past five years, the Ministry said the NIA has acted in all cases entrusted to it by the Centre. It did not list specific organisations but said the agency’s investigations have covered offences linked to terrorism, terror funding, organised crime, and the illegal circulation of arms, explosives and fake currency—categories that include several high-profile cases originating in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Government added that benchmarking exercises have been undertaken to align the NIA’s functioning with leading global counter-terrorism agencies. It concluded that the measures implemented in recent years, including the expansion of the agency’s infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, have significantly bolstered its capabilities in prevention, investigation and prosecution, helping it emerge as what it described as a premier investigative body equipped for contemporary national security challenges.