Mumbai to get Maharashtra’s 1st NIA police station

With the state government’s assent, the first National Investigation Agency (NIA) police station of Maharashtra will soon come up in Mumbai.

“This police station will allow the agency to register terror-related cases from across the state. They won’t need to be registered elsewhere. The modalities and where the police station will be established is being worked out by the NIA,” state home minister RR Patil said.

He added that this is being done to do away with procedural issues which the NIA faces while investigating terror cases in various parts of the country.

The NIA was formed after the parliament passed an Act 2006. The agency has concurrent jurisdiction which empowers the Centre to probe terror attacks in any part of the country, including offences that challenge the country’s sovereignty and integrity, bomb blasts and hijacking of ships and flights among other things.

Meanwhile, the home minister claimed that the decision to ban the right-wing Hindu organisation Sanatan Sanstha has to be taken by the central government. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad had sought a ban on the outfit in 2008 after the arrest of six people linked to the Sanstha for allegedly setting off a bomb in a theatre in Thane district during Marathi play ‘Aamhi Paachpute.’