Govt nod to National Investigating Agency

The Union Cabinet on Monday gave its nod for setting up a National Investigation Agency (NIA) triggered by the monumental tragedy on the night of Nov 26 when a handful of terrorists struck outrageously and seized high profile targets in South Mumbai for almost 60 hours.

The Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also approved the proposal to amend the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Act.

A three-line press note issued to the media after the meeting stated that the relevant bills would be introduced in the Parliament, which is currently in session.

Details related to amendments to the CISF Act were, however, not released, as the spokesman said, this would amount to contempt of Parliament as both Houses are currently in session.

But the need for an amendment to the CISF Act, which had been in limbo for some time, was called for amid growing demands that key private sector installations be given security cover by the para-military forces, which guards state owned facilities, installations, undertakings and airports.

As against the CBI that currently probes inter or intra-state crime first needs to take the approval of the states involved, the NIA will have exclusive powers to begin probes into major terror cases, depending on the enormity of the terror act, without having to wait for the nod of the concerned state governments. But the empowering NIA would require terrorism to be recognised as an act inimical to the security and defence of India.

Some state governments which was against the NSA, as they thought it would undermine their power, even in the wake of spate of bomb blasts in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and New Delhi—which investigating agency believed were linked in some way—eventually are understood to have agreed in the aftermath of the Mumbai strikes.

The Central government, which was speaking for NIA, had said in the past the Act in this effect would be brought only after reaching at a consensus with the state governments.

Although the Cabinet rejected the Home Ministry’s proposal yesterday to introduce a new tougher anti-terror law like POTA or TADA, the government however accepted for the amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to make it more stringent.

The new measures are in no way linked to the draconian law- POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act), enacted in 2002 by the NDA government, which was repealed soon after the Congress-led UPA government came to power in 2004, considering its misuse against the minority community.