The Year India’s Terror Hunters Changed the Game

Probe Times Bureau

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) closed 2025 with a performance that firmly reinforced its reputation as India’s foremost counter-terror and anti-organised crime body. With a conviction rate exceeding 92 per cent, the agency not only maintained its consistency in courtrooms but also scored major operational and diplomatic victories that had long eluded Indian investigators

At the heart of the year’s most consequential achievements was the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks that left 166 people dead. After years of legal wrangling in the United States, Rana’s appeals were rejected, clearing the way for his transfer to India in April. His arrest in New Delhi marked a symbolic and substantive step toward accountability in one of the country’s darkest chapters, with investigators now closer to unravelling the full international conspiracy behind the Lashkar-e-Taiba–orchestrated attack

Another diplomatic and operational win followed in November with the deportation of Anmol Bishnoi from the United States. A fugitive since 2022, Bishnoi brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi stands accused of running criminal syndicates with terror links spanning India and overseas locations. His return has enabled the NIA to fast-track prosecution in a case that exposes the growing nexus between organised crime and terrorism

On the domestic front, the agency demonstrated speed and precision in responding to major terror incidents. The investigation into the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which militants targeted tourists in Baisaran Valley and killed 26 civilians, was wrapped up within months. A detailed chargesheet named seven accused, including three attackers neutralised by security forces and their Pakistan-based handlers linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and its proxy outfit, The Resistance Front

Similarly, the November 10 car bomb blast near Delhi’s Red Fort—which killed around 15 people and injured more than 20—saw rapid breakthroughs. Classified as a terrorist act connected to radical modules, the case resulted in nine arrests within weeks, underlining the agency’s enhanced investigative readiness

Beyond headline-grabbing cases, the NIA played a central role in advancing the government’s objective of eliminating Left-Wing Extremism by March 31, 2026. During the year, it launched nine major investigations against senior Maoist leaders, filed chargesheets against 34 accused, and worked closely with state police forces and the CRPF to tighten the security net in affected regions

The numbers from 2025 reflect the scale of operations. Across 55 newly registered cases, the agency arrested 276 individuals linked to jihadi terror, Maoist insurgency, Northeast militancy, Khalistani networks, gangster syndicates, and other organised crimes. It secured 66 convictions, chargesheeted 320 accused, and attached 12 properties belonging to absconding terrorists and criminals

Nationwide raids dismantled ISIS and Al-Qaeda modules, disrupted Khalistani elements, exposed human trafficking networks exploiting the ‘dunki’ route, and broke cross-border smuggling rackets involving Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals. Investigators also achieved breakthroughs in high-profile targeted killing cases and long-pending espionage and fake currency networks

To stay ahead of evolving threats, the NIA invested heavily in capability-building—developing specialised databases to track lost government weapons, mapping organised crime networks, and training officers in cryptocurrency and digital finance investigations. Infrastructure upgrades further strengthened its operational reach.

As India confronts increasingly complex security challenges, the NIA’s 2025 record stands out as a year where strategy, speed, and coordination came together—turning persistence into results and reaffirming the agency’s pivotal role in safeguarding national security.