• Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Sadanand Vasant Date has been appointed as the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

• Date is a 1990-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Maharashtra cadre.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sadanand Date as the Director General of the NIA for a tenure up to his superannuation on December 31, 2026.

• He will succeed Dinkar Gupta, who is due to superannuate on March 31.

• Date was honoured with the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry for saving lives and countering terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He took on two of the 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives who stormed Mumbai on November 26, 2008.

• Date, 57, had served as DIG in the Central Bureau of Investigation, IG (Ops) in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Commissioner of Police for Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar city (MBVV) near Mumbai.

• It was his initiative to set up an Anti-Terrorism Cell (ATC) at every police station in Mumbai. This model was later adopted at all police stations in the state.

• The IPS officer also played a key role in the formation of the Force One, the specialised commando unit of the Maharashtra police formed in 2010 on the lines of the elite National Security Guard (NSG). 

• During his tenure as Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) in Mumbai, Date had started a lab to monitor content of social media platforms.

National Investigation Agency (NIA)

• The NIA was set up in 2009 in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that had claimed 166 lives. 

• The NIA was constituted under the NIA Act of 2008 as a special agency for investigation and prosecution of offences specified in the Schedule of NIA Act. 

• NIA is the premier investigation agency at the central level to investigate terrorism related cases including terrorism financing cases.

• It aims to set the standards of excellence in counter terrorism and other national security related investigations at the national level by developing into a highly trained, partnership oriented workforce.

• The NIA, with its headquarters in New Delhi, has 18 branch offices across the country.

• The NIA Act was amended in 2019 to enlarge the mandate of the NIA by inclusion of offences related to human trafficking, manufacture/sale of prohibited arms, cyber-terrorism and offences under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and expanded its jurisdiction beyond India.

• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 was amended in 2019 to empower Director General (DG), NIA to seize/attach the properties related to proceeds of terrorism in cases being investigated by the NIA.

Objectives of NIA:

• In-depth professional investigation of scheduled offences using the latest scientific methods of investigation and setting up such standards as to ensure that all cases entrusted to the NIA are detected.

• Ensuring effective and speedy trial.

• Developing into a thoroughly professional, result-oriented organisation, upholding the constitution of India and laws of the land giving prime importance to the protection of human rights and dignity of the individual.

• Developing a professional workforce through regular training and exposure to the best practices and procedures.

• Displaying scientific temper and progressive spirit while discharging the duties assigned.

• Inducting modern methods and the latest technologies in every sphere of activities of the agency.

• Assist all states and other investigating agencies in probing terrorist cases.

• Build a database on all terrorist-related information and share the database available with the states and other agencies.

• Study and analyse laws related to terrorism in other countries and regularly evaluate the adequacy of existing laws in India and propose changes as and when necessary.

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