HM inaugurates NIA’s Jammu office virtually
CCMS will enable coordination in terrorism, organized crime
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 14: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said today that Prime Minister Narendra Modi Government is powering its battle against terrorism with sharp edge of technology and the facilities of robust infrastructure.
Inaugurating offices of the National Investigations Agency (NIA) in Jammu and Kochi and residential complex in Raipur virtually from New Delhi and unique digital Criminal Case Management System (CCMS) designed by the NIA, Shah said this will give fillip to India’s fight against terrorism and organized crime.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Tapan Deka were present at the virtually ceremony in New Delhi among others while the function at NIA office in Jammu was attended by NIA IG Vijay Sakhare, DIG Amit Kumar and SSP NIA Jammu Sandeep Choudhary.
The two new office complexes of the NIA-one at Sidhra in Jammu and another at Kochi (Kerala), will strengthen the agency’s reach and presence, and provide a safe and secure environment to NIA officers and personnel to operate in tackling the menace of terrorism and left wing extremism, an official statement issued by the MHA said.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the newly developed CCMS will enable the NIA personnel to better coordinate in terrorism and organized crime cases, thereby improving justice delivery. The new stand-alone version of CCMS has been developed by NIA as a user-friendly and easy-to-deploy, customizable, browser-based software to help the State/UT Police forces in their investigations and prosecution, the statement said.
It said the state-of-the-art CCMS software would not only bring standardization into investigations but also enable easy and streamlined compilation of terror-related data across the country.
“The launch of the software comes at a time when India is facing increasing threats from various terrorist organizations, new challenges in the form of extensive use of cyber-space, dark-web, drones, crowd-funding, use of crypto-currencies, encrypted communication platforms, besides use of new technologies for terrorist financing, movement of arms and other terror support activities,” the statement said.
It added that the NIA, which has been aggressively tackling such threats, has undergone major empowerment and expansion over the years to enhance its capacities and competencies.
Launching the CCMS, Amit Shah said that it would further foster stronger cooperation between the Central and State agencies, including the Anti-Terror Squads of the State/UT Police.
Shah urged the State Director Generals of Police to use the new-age software for carrying out effective and expeditious investigations and operations. He added that it will help the State forces organize, integrate and digitalize the data generated during investigations, such as case documents, extracted data, collected evidence, and the charge sheets presented to the court.
He pointed out that the newly developed system will also boost supervision by providing clear frameworks for assessment and guidance by both the senior police officers and the prosecutors. He added it will assist NIA and the State Police forces’ preparedness to implement the newly legislated post-colonial era Criminal laws in the form of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakhsya Sanhita.
Shah also launched a mobile app ‘Sankalan’ – A compendium of New Criminal Laws by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Sankalan App has been designed for navigating through new criminal laws as a bridge between old and new criminal laws. The App will work as a comprehensive guide for all stakeholders. The App will work in offline mode as well and its availability has been ensured in far-flung areas so that all stakeholders can have access to desired information around the clock.
Sankalan App will be available for download on Google Play Store, Apple Store and its desktop version may be downloaded from official websites of MHA and NCRB, the MHA statement said.
It may be recalled that the Home Minister, during the ‘Anti-Terror Conference’ in October 2023, had expressed the desire for the establishment of such a digital platform for law enforcement agencies across the country to enable state police forces and Central agencies to undertake structured and synergized investigations.
Shah had then emphasized that it would help improve conviction rates in sensitive and complex cases across the country.
The Jammu, Kochi and Raipur NIA Branch offices, inaugurated today, had been functioning from rented premises since their sanction by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2016, 2012 and 2016, respectively. The Raipur Branch had moved into its own building in 2022 but construction of the associated residential complex has been completed now, the statement said.
“These modern buildings will provide the NIA personnel with a secure and conducive environment for executing their work in a better way,” it added.
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