Crime Today News
The NIA has played a stellar role in fighting terror
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Our security establishment deserve all praise for having successfully brought to India the US-based Tahawwur Hussain Rana (of Pakistani origin) to face trial in India for his involvement in the 26/11 attack on Mumbai 17 years ago.
This is a success whose significance can hardly be exaggerated, if one reckons the dastardly nature of terrorism in our times and the exacting standards of proof that modern extradition law demands whenever a terrorist flees the country of his action.
The terrorist as we now know is merciless. His sole objective is to cause maximum destruction unmindful of the number of victims. Remember that in the Dawood Ibrahim- inspired Bombay Blast of March 1993 there were 257 fatalities.
In the 26/11 incidents as many as 174 persons were killed. It is incomprehensible how a few in our country are still unmoved and plead for restoration of ties with Pakistan that has either promoted these attacks or still give shelter to those who had conspired to attack our citizens. Terrorism often has State support that makes identification of all participants an extremely arduous task.
This distinctive feature of terrorism is the nightmare of even the most knowledgable and enterprising investigator.
Such roadblocks for investigators make us feel that modern law has been designed in such a way that it protects the lawbreaker rather than deter him. Those who scream about human rights violations by law enforcement outfits seem more sensitive to those who break the law than to victims of violence. This is the backdrop against which we should analyse the Rana case and what awaits us in the future.
NIA’s success
Handling terrorism is beyond the capacity of the average policeman. This is why many countries have opted for specially skilled formations. Until NIA was formed in 2009, India had been handling terror in a traditional police style. Actually many in public administration, including me, were sceptical about the need for a separate terror investigating agency outside the CBI. Our misgivings were proved wrong with the NIA registering many remarkable successes, the latest being Rana’s extradition. The organisation has become professional, something that we should be proud of.
The success of any crime investigating agency depends almost wholly on the quality and dedication of its personnel, and their morale. The NIA has been selective in the choice of its personnel, conscious of the need for staff diversity and ensuring a high state of morale. This augurs well for the future of our war against terror.
Terror investigation is complex because of the insidious nature of attacks. Although we have been witness to many lone wolf attacks in the recent past, the terrorist operates mostly in a group.
The latter is widely spread on the ground and is clinically constituted with each member being assigned a separate task. This is why one is not sure that investigations, however thorough, will be able to pinpoint all the actors.
Naturally many terrorists hide themselves when under pressure from law enforcement and surface again when an opportunity arises. This is a real danger that Indian anti-terror outfits will continue to face in the future. It is this hard reality that will always keep them on their toes.
It is a matter of pride that since 2008 there has been no major terror attack in India. This is a tribute to the alertness of our policemen and to our intelligence agencies. It is needless to say that there is no room for complacence. Also critical is the imperative of close ties with foreign intelligence outfits, as the Rana case establishes.
The writer is a former Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau, New Delhi, and a former CBI Director
Published on April 11, 2025
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