• The police forces of the States should invoke the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) without hesitation when required, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, adding that a National Counter Terrorism Policy and Strategy will be introduced soon to fight terrorism, terrorists, and the entire ecosystem supporting them.
  • “The agencies fighting against terrorism should apply UAPA without hesitation wherever needed and seek assistance from the NIA [National Investigation Agency] for investigations. NIA has registered 632 cases, filed chargesheets in 498 cases and secured conviction in 95% cases. If NIA can achieve this, why cannot the State police do this?” Mr. Shah said, addressing the NIA’s two-day Anti-Terrorism Conference, 2024, where he also released the Standard Operating Procedure for UAPA investigations.
  • Fighting terrorism does not merely mean uncovering a few conspiracies, he said; rather, it means legally empowering the agencies fighting terrorism and creating an ecosystem that strengthens the fight against it.
  • He added that the Home Ministry Affairs has coordinated efforts for deradicalisation. Various Ministries have developed their own strategies, and the Ministry has established an institutional framework, he said. The Minister said that though law and order was a State subject, terrorism did not know any territorial limits and thus it was imperative that the NIA is strengthened.
  • To address challenges, Mr. Shah emphasised that a coordinated approach must be adapted from police stations at the State level to the offices of the Directors-General of Police. The time has come to shift from a ‘need to know’ approach to a ‘duty to share’ approach, he said.