New Delhi: A robust conviction rate of 94.70 percent, nearly 28 percent surge in arrests, attachment of assets worth Rs 56 crore and a focus on dismantling terror outfits and gangs operating in Punjab — these were the key achievements of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2023, an officer said.
In a statement Sunday, the NIA said that in 2023, the agency “notched new milestones of success in its fight against terrorists, gangsters, drug smugglers, human traffickers and other criminals operating against national interests”
The statement added that among the most notable successes for NIA during the year were operations against “ISIS, Kashmiri and other Jihadis”, as well as against the growing “terror-gangster nexus” in the country.
According to the data with the NIA, in 2022, the agency arrested 490 accused, against 625 arrests this year. These include 65 accused arrested in ISIS cases, 114 arrested for terror cases, 45 accused of human trafficking cases, 28 accused of terrorist and organised criminal activity and 76 accused of Left-wing extremism (LWE) cases.
The data also shows that NIA registered a total of 68 cases in 2023 that include 18 terror cases in multiple states, three cases from J&K, 12 cases of Left Wing Extremism, seven cases involving terrorist and Organised Criminal activity in Punjab, five cases of the Northeast, and two cases related to Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).
In 2023, 513 people were chargesheeted and 74 were convicted, compared to 459 chargesheeted in 2022 and 79 convicted in 2022.
“The 74 accused convicted during 2023 were sentenced to various quantums of ‘Rigorous Imprisonment’ and ‘Fines’ as punishment,” the statement said.
The agency further claimed that it tracked down and arrested 47 absconders in 2023, against 33 last year.
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Attacks on Indian consulates abroad
It added that the attacks on the High Commissions of India in Ottawa and London and on the Consulate General of India, San Francisco, US, also remained the focus and more than 50 raids to probe the incidents were conducted to “unravel the conspiracy behind the attacks on Indian Missions abroad.” After examination of 80 persons, the agency narrowed down on 43 suspects.
“NIA used several innovative methods of investigation, including crowd sourcing of information, while investigating the larger conspiracy of attacks on Indian Missions,” the statement said.
Terror funding, terrorist-gangster nexus
Seizure of properties and assets acquired through unlawful activities, to dismantle the terror and crime ecosystems, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, remained key focus for the agency in 2023.
According to NIA data, in 2022, the agency attached a total of 37 properties worth Rs 10.53 crore, while in 2023, the figure went up to 240 (including 156 bank accounts) with a total value of Rs 55.90 crore. These properties belonged to the accused and suspects involved in terrorism, LWE, explosives and other prominent cases, the NIA said.
Further to dismantle the “terrorist-gangster nexus”, NIA registered two cases, chargesheeted 55 persons, conducted 253 raids, arrested 27 persons and attached 18 properties in 2023.
“Consistent coordination with international agencies has resulted in action against foreign nodes of the Syndicate. The arrest of Deepak Ranga, the prime accused in the RPG attack on the intelligence headquarters of Punjab Police, has been one of the most significant,” the officer said.
Ranga was wanted in several cases with the NIA and is allegedly the chief executioner of terrorist activities of Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda who is based in Pakistan, and Lakhbir Singh Landa who is based in Canada — both members of the proscribed terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and both designated ‘Individual Terrorists’ by the MHA.
Another focus of the agency in 2023 was the Left wing extremism in the country.
“With massive crackdowns carried out against cadres and sympathisers of the banned CPI Maoist and People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), the agency has worked to dismantle the terror Infrastructure established in the country by CPI (Maoist) to carry out activities related to terror and violence,” the statement said
The year 2023 also witnessed a sharp focus by the NIA on human trafficking involving Bangladesh and Myanmar nationals at the Indo-Bangladesh border, NIA said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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