Islamic State not a threat to India, says Rajnath Singh

Amidst media reports that the terrorist group Islamic State may target Asian countries, India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh claims that the country does not face any threat from IS.

“Presently the world confronts the challenge of ISIS, but in India there is no threat from it. Because the high values of life refrain our youths from joining this organisation,” Singh said on Monday.

But on several occasions, youths from a few Indian states have been arrested either in India or abroad for involvement in IS activities.

According to a PIB release, the home minister said that India had been successful so far in confronting and overpowering challenges posed by terrorism across the country.

“Internal security of the country is also important along with strengthening the border of the country. If the country is not safe then the dream of development might not be realised,” Singh said.

He was speaking at a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the regional office and the residential complex of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Lauding the NIA, Singh said that it had proven itself time and again in dealing with complex matters pertaining to security and safety.

He added that the NIA had 95 percent success in probing crimes, and 92 percent success in getting culprits punished.

The home minister said that since crimes are now becoming high tech, it is absolutely necessary that investigations should also be hi-tech.

In its new premises, NIA will be able to effectively use modern techniques to combat crime, he added.

In the last six years NIA has investigated about 112 cases.

The Lucknow branch of the NIA was established on May 20, 2012.

It deals with key security related issues pertaining to states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand.