Top security officials to meet for two-day NIA conference; Bangladesh-based terror groups, gangster networks in focus

Several critical aspects of India's national security, including the attempts by Bangladesh-based terror groups to revive their modules in West Bengal and nearby states, will come up next week when the country's top security and intelligence brass meets for two days next week in New Delhi.

The two-day Anti-Terror Conference 2026 of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to be held on November 19-20. (HT File)People familiar with the development said various topics, like the use of India’s porous borders by anti-India elements to smuggle drugs, arms and explosives, and online radicalisation and recruitment of young men by a Pakistan-backed gangster-terrorist network led by Shahzad Bhatti, will also come up for discussion during the two-day Anti-Terror Conference 2026 of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is likely to be held on November 19-20.

Union home minister Amit Shah is expected to attend the conference and issue important directions to the NIA and the anti-terror squads (ATSs) of all the states and union territories (UTs). “Infiltration from the porous border in the northeast and Bengal, as well as smuggling of drugs, arms and explosives, will be discussed during the conference,” an officer, who asked not to be named, said.

The top security officials will also discuss the proxy warfare by Pakistan, instances of Indian men being used by Pakistani gangster networks to attack police stations, police officers, offices of political parties, businessmen or celebrities in Punjab, Haryana and elsewhere, the officer cited above said.

At the last NIA annual conference, two NIA databases were launched. One database was on organised crime networks, and the other was on looted/lost or recovered weapons. Both databases can be accessed by state and central agencies to obtain ready information on organised criminals, their modus operandi, past cases, and weapons.

In a separate conference organised by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in August this year, Shah had asserted that India’s security policy must be formulated taking into account global instability, insecurity surrounding energy and resources, supply-chain disruptions, rising radicalisation and warfare of cyber misinformation.

Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape.

Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption.

He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack.

His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence.

Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya.

His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings.

He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship.

He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism.

Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More