BHUBANESWAR: In a move to strengthen counter-terrorism apparatus, the Odisha government has announced establishment of the state’s first National Investigation Agency (NIA) police station in the capital city.
The newly-designated station will be located at the regional telecom training centre near Vani Vihar here and have jurisdiction over the entire state, enabling faster and more effective investigation of scheduled offences under the NIA Act, 2008, sources said.
A notification issued by the Home department on Saturday stated, “In exercise of the powers conferred under section 2(1)(u) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the state government do hereby declare the office of NIA as a police station for the whole state of Odisha in respect of investigation of scheduled offences under NIA Act.”
The decision came amid growing concerns over terror-related activities in the country. Odisha is home to vital national establishments like the missile testing range, naval base and army air defence centre and religious landmarks like the Lord Jagannath temple. It has long been on the radar of terror outfits such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
Sources said although the NIA already had a small office in the city, it lacked sufficient manpower to handle serious investigations. In case of a major terror incident or related developments, officials had to be flown in from Delhi or other places for investigation.
An official familiar with the development said the current process of handling terror cases often causes delays in investigation. “Whenever there is a terror-related incident, the case first gets registered with the local police and then forwarded to the NIA. This slows down the probe. With the new police station, such cases can be registered directly with the NIA, enabling the agency to initiate investigations without delay,” he explained.
Sources said, the state government is likely to depute some police officers to the NIA, which is now short-staffed. With this, Odisha joins a select group of states to have a full-fledged NIA police station.
Security experts have welcomed the initiative, calling it a timely step in light of the state’s vulnerability due to its strategic installations.
In 2015, an AQIS operative Abdul Rehman was arrested from Salipur area in Cuttack district on charges of radicalising youths for terror activities. Next year, five operatives of SIMI, who had escaped from a jail in Madhya Pradesh, were arrested from Rourkela city. Four terror suspects had fled from a hotel in the capital city before police raid a few years ago. Besides, a number of espionage incidents have been reported in the state in the recent past.