New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said it arrested 210 accused and delivered a record 100 per cent conviction rate in 2024.

As many as 27 absconding criminals were nabbed by the NIA during the year, the anti-terror probe agency said in a statement.

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The successful investigation of several high-profile cases and a strong focus on tackling Left Wing Extremism (LWE) marked a year of many highs for the federal probe agency.

A total of 210 accused were arrested across key categories of crimes in 80 cases registered by the NIA in 2024, said the statement.

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Of these cases, Left Wing Extremism and Northeast insurgency topped the list at 28 and 18 cases.

NIA's impressive performance for 2024 was marked by convictions of 68 accused (in 25 cases) and charge-sheeting of 408 accused, the statement said.

A total of 137 properties/assets worth Rs 19.57 crore were attached during the year as part of the agency's sustained efforts to dismantle various terrorist, gangster and other criminal networks.

Left Wing Extremism remained under NIA's scanner throughout 2024, leading to the maximum of 69 arrests of the total 210 arrests made during the year.

Twenty eight cases of LWE were registered, and 12 chargesheets were filed against 64 accused in this category, the statement said.

Northeast insurgency was also high on NIA's radar with 15 arrests.

The agency arrested 14 accused in connection with foreign-based Khalistani terrorist cases during the year, which saw 101 searches being conducted in these cases.

The total searches carried out across all kinds of cases in 2024 stood at 662. Thirteen arrests were made in gangster related cases during the year, the NIA said.

The agency's agile efforts in cracking terrorism cases were evident in the fact that it had filed chargesheet against Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Wadhawa Singh alias Babbar and five other terrorists in the murder of VHP leader Vikas Prabhakar alias Vikas Bagga in Punjab within months of the fatal attack, the statement said.

Similarly, 10 accused, including foreign-based terrorist Goldy Brar, were expeditiously charge sheeted in the case pertaining to firing for extortion at the house of a businessman in Chandigarh by aides of Brar, the NIA said.

Another notable development in the Khalistani terror-related cases was the successful extradition of Tarsem Singh Sandhu of Tarn Taran district of Punjab from the UAE.

As far as extraditions secured by NIA are concerned, another accused, Salman Khan, was brought in from Rwanda in an arms seizure case of Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Arms seizure emerged as a key milestone in NIA's action against attempts by anti-national forces to unleash violence in the country.

Weapons recovery and seizure were reported from across the country, including Jammu, Jaipur, Ranchi, Patna, and Chandigarh, the agency said.

Notable among these was the seizure in Jammu of arms/ammunition and other incriminating materials from a car driver working as an overground worker (OGW) of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit.

As many as two hand grenades, 34 9mm pistol rounds, one Chinese pistol, one Turkish pistol, 20 Chinese pistol rounds and one pistol silencer were recovered in this case, the NIA said.

A massive haul of five rifles, six pistols, one revolver, 215 rounds ammunition, five detonators, two packets of gun powder, 75 fired empty cartridges & 75 kgs of suspected explosive substance were also seized in a case of illegal supply of arms, ammunition and explosives to operatives in Northeast states and insurgent groups based across the international border, it said.

"The arrest of 11 ISIS Jihadis, five J&K Jihadis and 24 other Jihadis marked another major step forward for the agency," the statement said.

The anti-terror probe agency scaled up its operations multifold in 2024, cracking the Rameshwaram cafe blast case (Bengaluru), which rocked the nation early in the year, within a matter of months.

A total of 27 absconding criminals were nabbed by the NIA during the year, as per the statement.

Notable among them was Savad, who was nabbed after being on the run for 13 years in the Kerala professor hand chopping case.

Other key absconders arrested during the year included Mohammed Sahjalal Haldar and Idris in a case relating to human trafficking from Myanmar into India, Shokat Ali alias Shaukat Ali in the Jaipur customs gold seizure case, and Mohammed Mustafa and Kodaje Mohammed Sherif in BJP leader Praveen Nattaru murder case.

The arrest of absconder Kamran Haider in the Laos human trafficking and cyber slavery case signified NIA's concerted focus on destroying the chain behind this criminal activity, which has led to several innocent youth being trapped on foreign land by unscrupulous elements, the statement said.

A part of its efforts to enhance the capacity of the state police forces, the NIA also engaged in their capacity building, providing training to 1,678 state police officials through 11 training programmes/courses in 2024, it added.

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