At NIA meet, calls for avoiding misuse of UAPA

The NIA’s two-day “Anti-Terror Conference” concluded on Friday with a broad consensus that the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is a powerful legal tool to combat terror, but it needs to be applied carefully and judiciously to avoid potential misuse.

The participants, comprising officials from the NIA, other probe agencies and the Central Armed Polices Forces, called for global cooperation to tackle the misuse of social media by terrorists amid divergent content moderation policies.

In his concluding remarks, Home Secretary Govind Mohan called for enhanced capacity building at the state level to fight terrorism. He urged states to send competent officers to the NIA, which would not only help steer the agency’s growth but also enrich the investigation culture back home once the officers returned.