Rajnath Singh to inaugurate NIA headquarters in Delhi

New Delhi: Almost nine years after its inception following the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will finally have its headquarters housed in its own building, which will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday.

Spread over 1.0356 acres (4,191 square metre) of land, opposite CGO Complex in south Delhi's Lodhi Road, allotted by the Urban Development Ministry in December 23, 2013, the new NIA headquarters comprises nine floors and two basements.

"The new NIA headquarters will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajanth Singh on Tuesday. Ministers of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju will also be present. The building has cost Rs 35.13 crore," a Home Ministry statement said.

The building's construction was started following approval by the Home Ministry on December 24, 2014. The MoU for its construction was signed with the National Building Construction Corporation Ltd on December 29, 2014.

"The foundation stone of the NIA headquarters was laid by Rajnath Singh on September 10, 2015, and the work completed within stipulated 24 months."

The NIA, which came into existence on December 31, 2008, in pursuance to the enactment of the NIA Act of 2008 with a mandate to investigate terrorist activities, initially began operations from Hotel Centaur here. Thereafter, the agency shifted its headquarters to the NDCC-II Building on Jai Singh Road in Delhi in June 2013.

The agency has since expanded its geographical outreach through a network of branch offices at Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kochi, Guwahati, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, and Jammu.

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Its camp offices are located in Chandigarh, Srinagar, Chennai, Bengaluru, Visakhapatanam, Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jagdalpur, Patna, Siliguri, Malda, Ranchi, Vijaywada, and Imphal.

The NIA, which started functioning on January 19, 2009, investigates crimes with national and international ramifications and has all-India jurisdiction.

The first case was assigned to NIA in June 2009 and by the end of July 2017, a total 166 cases covering the entire spectrum of terrorism-related challenges relevant to India have been assigned to it. It is involved in investigative efforts in 26 states and Union Territories.

"Out of the 166 cases, 63 cases pertain to ‘jihadi' terrorism, 25 to terrorist acts by northeast's insurgents, 41 to cases of terror financing and fake currency, 13 to cases involving Left Wing Extremism and the remaining 24 to other miscellaneous terrorist acts," the statement said.

The NIA investigations have helped unearth an entire range of illegal activities involving terror funding to specific incidents of terror involving killing of innocent persons, it added.