More powers to NIA: Lok Sabha to take a call

New Delhi, July 09: The BJP-led NDA government introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to give the National Investigation Agency (NIA) more powers.

The amendment to the NIA act also seeks to give the agency more power, which also also permit it to probe cases of human trafficking and cyber crime as well.

The amendment to Schedule 4 of the UAPA will allow the NIA to designate an individual suspected to have terrorist links as a terrorist. Currently, only organisations are designated as terrorist organisations. The NIA came into existence in 2009 following the Mumbai 26/11 attack. The proposed amendments are under consideration since 2017. The same was proposed to give the agency more teeth and also a wider scope in the wake of fresh challenges emerging.