New Delhi, April 21 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has set 'Gold Standard' with more than 90 per cent conviction rate and it has a very important role to play in fulfilling the Prime Minister's goal of a terror-free India and Zero Tolerance Against Terrorism.

 On the occasion of 13th NIA Day celebrations held at BR Ambedkar International Centre here, Shah said NIA investigates crimes where it is difficult to gather evidences, however, its achievements are an inspiration for the police and all-anti terrorism agencies of the country. NIA is handling and pursuing a very important area of internal security with promptness and efficiency, he added. Shah said terrorism was a curse for any civilised society and India has suffered the greatest pain from this curse. There can be no greater violation of human rights than terrorism, that is why, complete eradication of terrorism is very important to protect human rights, NIA should work determinedly to end terrorism, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement here.

Shah said, "The NIA has done wonderful work over the past seven years in many difficult areas and I would like to make a special mention of Jammu and Kashmir. "Battling terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir is one aspect, but rooting out terrorism is another, and, if we want to uproot terrorism, then we will have to demolish its terror funding systems. With NIA registering terror funding cases, I can confidently say that NIA has greatly helped in rooting out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir through registration of terror funding cases," he added. As many as 105 cases related to terror funding were registered, 94 charge sheets were filed against 876 accused, 796 accused have been arrested, out of which 100 accused have also been convicted, which is a major achievement, Ministry of Home Affairs, in a statement, said. NIA has been in existence for 13 years, during this period more than 400 cases have been registered, challans have been filed in more than 349 cases, 2,494 criminals have been apprehended, 391 persons have been successfully sentenced and the conviction ratio is 93.25 per cent. He said the government has worked to strengthen the NIA Act and the UAPA Act, in any terrorist attack outside India where Indian casualties take place, the authority to investigate such cases has been given to NIA. In the new amendment, the government has also given powers to the NIA to stop infiltration, explosive substances and cyber crimes. Earlier, NIA had the authority to declare organisations as terrorist organisations, now for the first time, the government has given authority to NIA to declare organisations as well as individuals as terrorists and so far, 36 persons have been declared terrorists.