NIA office in city soon

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune news service

Chandigarh, September 25

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Central Counter-Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency, is all set to open its office in the city soon.

The Chandigarh Administration has allotted the space for setting up the office of the agency. Sources said the Administration has offered the office space in the community centre building inside Burail Jail

The NIA office here will look after the cases related to northern states — Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh.

The NIA has expanded its presence in the recent past to several parts of the country. Apart from New Delhi and Jammu, the NIA branch offices are located at Hyderabad in Telangana, Guwahati (Assam), Kochi (Kerala), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Kolkata (West Bengal).

It has recently opened offices in Jammu and Raipur, both of which are sensitive areas. While Jammu Kashmir is facing terror challenges from Pakistan, parts of Chhattisgarh and nearby areas are facing left-wing extremism. The agency will shift to its new office after all formalities are completed.

Sources said the NIA office will investigate the ‘Hawala racket’ that is allegedly being run by separatist groups supported by Pakistan-based agencies.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has designated the NIA as the nodal agency for investigating terror funding in the sensitive areas.