New Delhi: The central and state security agencies as well as police forces on Friday unanimously resolved for stronger collaborative efforts backed by a standardized strategy to combat the menace of terrorism, particularly with respect to cybercrime and financial terrorism.
As the two-day “Anti-Terror Conference 2024” concluded on Friday, consensus emerged during the sessions on the importance of a holistic, well-rounded strategy, encompassing the entire national framework extending from the government down to the lowest levels of policing and investigation.
The conference, which was organized by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), focused on the need for a unified approach to deal with terrorism across states in the interest of national security.
Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan called for enhanced capacity building at the state level to fight terrorism. He urged states to send competent officers to NIA, and added that this would not only help steer the agency’s growth but also enrich the investigation culture back home when these officers return to their states.
“The NIA will be conducting several more capacity building sessions for states. More NFSU campuses and CFSLs were also in the pipeline to promote the quality of digital evidence as a means to make prosecution in terror cases more effective,” said Mohan.
The home secretary spoke extensively on the role of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Government of India in dealing with financial and cyber related crimes in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.
He reiterated the need for all police and investigative agencies and forces to work together in the spirit of sharing of data and information.
It is worth mentioning that Home Minister Amit Shah and Home Secretary Mohan both highlighted NIA’s growing importance in the emerging security environment.
Home minister Shah on Thursday said that NIA has delivered a remarkable conviction rate of 95.14%, with 499 chargesheets filed, on the back of the adoption of advanced, cutting-edge technologies to enhance investigative methodologies, strengthening the agency's capacity to counter emerging threats.
The inaugural session of the annual anti-terror conference on Thursday was attended by 39 heads of State Police, CPOs, CAPFs in addition to over 150 delegates from 29 state and UT police and 31 central organisations.
The conference was marked by a series of brainstorming sessions focused on ‘Prosecution and evolving legal framework in CT investigations’; Significant case studies in terror investigations - learnings, experiences and innovations’; ‘Emerging technologies: Challenges and opportunities’; ‘Dismantling terror eco system’; and ‘Comprehensive CT strategies’.
Participants shared their thoughts and opinions on these critical topics, which have assumed major significance in the changing legal dynamics involved in fighting terrorism.
There was a broad consensus during the conference that while UA(P)A is a powerful legal tool to tackle terror, it should be applied carefully and judiciously to avoid potential misuse and ensure its effectiveness in combating terrorism.
Participants called for global cooperation to tackle misuse of social media by terrorists amid divergent content moderation policies.
An NIA spokesperson said that the session on case studies in terror investigations proved to be an extremely interesting aspect of the conference, with most participants keenly following the narrative of the high-profile Rameshwaram Café blast.
In the backdrop of the emerging technologies, the conference underscored the need for unified frameworks to tackle the resultant challenges. The need for pooling of resources to overcome cyber and tech constraints was sharply highlighted during the sessions.
Apart from state representatives, the conference was attended by delegates from key agencies such as the BSF, NCB, NATGRID, FIU, NTRO, I4C, MeitY, CTCR, NSG, among others.
The event was marked by the unveiling of NIA’s motto by the Union Home Minister, who additionally launched the handbook of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) specifically designed for investigations under the UA(P) Act.
Investiture Ceremonies were held on both days, with the Union Home Minister and the Union Home Secretary honouring 11 and 30 police personnel respectively for their services.
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