NEW DELHI: Nine years after it was set up as India’s primary counter-terrorism probe agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is all set to get its own new and swanky headquarter building in the heart of the national Capital. 

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the new Headquarters Office Complex of the NIA here on October 10.  Ministers of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju will also be present at the inauguration ceremony. The foundation stone of the NIA Headquarters was laid by Rajnath Singh on September 10, 2015 and the construction has been completed within the stipulated period of two years, official sources said.  

The NIA, which came into existence on December 31, 2008, initially began operations in Hotel Centaur near IGI Airport and then shifted its Headquarters to the NDCC-II Building, Jai Singh Road near Rajiv Chowk. 

In addition to the new headquarters, the NIA has expanded its geographical outreach through a network of branch offices located at Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kochi, Guwahati, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur and Jammu. NIA also has its camp offices at Chandigarh, Srinagar, Chennai, Bangalore, Vishakhapatnam, Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jagdalpur, Patna, Siliguri, Malda, Ranchi, Vijaywada and Imphal. 

The Ministry of Urban Development allotted 1.0356 acres of land opposite CGO Complex, Lodhi Road in Delhi at a cost of Rs.22.78 lacs on December 23, 2013 for construction of the NIA’s headquarters.  After the Home Ministry’s approval a year later, the MoU for construction of office complex building was signed with the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) Ltd on December 29, 2014. The Office Complex, comprising of administration building having nine floors & two basements with a total area of 1,14,056 sqft, has been built at a cost of Rs.35.13 crore. 

As the Central Counter-Terrorism Investigation agency, the NIA came into existence in pursuance to enactment of the NIA Act, 2008. with a mandate to investigate serious offences related to terrorist activities affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of the nation. 

The NIA is investigating the crimes having national and international ramifications and NIA has all-India jurisdiction. The NIA started functioning on January 19, 2009. The first case was assigned to NIA in June, 2009 and by the end of July, 2017, a total 166 cases had been assigned to the NIA for investigation. These cases cover the entire spectrum of terrorism related challenges relevant to India and have involved investigative efforts in 26 States and UTs. 

Out of the 166 breakup cases, 63 cases pertain to Âjihadi terrorism, 25 to terrorist acts by North East insurgents, 41 to cases of terror financing and fake currency, 13 to cases involving Left Wing Extremism while the remaining 24 cases relate to other miscellaneous terrorist acts/gangs. The investigations conducted by the NIA have helped to unearth an entire range of illegal activities involving terror funding to specific incidents of terror involving the killing of innocent persons.