National Investigation Agency

IN NEWS:

• National Investigation Agency has taken over a controversial gold smuggling case in Kerala.

ABOUT NIA:

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a central agency established by the Indian Government to combat terror in India.
• It acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency.
• The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states.
• The Agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008.
• Headquartered in New Delhi, the NIA has branches in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur and Jammu.
• NIA was created after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

Q. Consider the following statements regarding National investigation agency (NIA):

1. It is a statutory body.
2. It was created in 2001 after the terrorist attack on parliament

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to Prelims question