Sadanand Vasant Date, who bravely fought terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai attack, on Sunday took over the reins of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
26/11 Hero Sadanand Vasant Becomes New DG of NIA
Sadanand Vasant Date, who bravely fought terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai attack, on Sunday took over the reins of the National Investigation Agency, according to an official statement. Date, a 1990 batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre, succeeded Dinkar Gupta, who superannuated. Before joining the NIA, Date was serving as the chief of ATS in Maharashtra. He has held several important positions in Maharashtra, including those of Police Commissioner of Mira- Bhayandar Vasai-Virar, Joint Commissioner Law and order, and Joint Commissioner Crime Branch Mumbai.
Date has served two tenures in the Indian government — in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as Deputy Inspector General and in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as Inspector General. Date was awarded the President’s Police Medal for gallantry in 2008 for his role in combating the terrorists who had launched the dastardly attacks on Mumbai in November 2008. Date also received the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2007 and President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2014, it added.
National Investigation Agency
The NIA is a specialised counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written proclamation from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008, which was passed after the deadly 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.
Headquartered in New Delhi, the NIA has branches in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai and Imphal.
