National Investigation Agency (PTI image)

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday carried out searches at 22 locations across five states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in connection with a terror conspiracy case.Officials said the raids covered eight locations in Bihar, one each in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, two in Uttar Pradesh, and nine in Jammu and Kashmir. Separate NIA teams launched the operations simultaneously based on actionable intelligence inputs.The searches were conducted in close coordination with state police at the residences and premises of individuals suspected of links with anti-national networks, officials told news agency ANI.The case, registered earlier this year under number RC-1/2025/NIA/CHE, was handed over to the NIA by the ministry of home affairs due to its seriousness and potential national security implications.Investigators suspect that the network under scrutiny is involved in attempts to create unrest and destabilise law and order in the country.In recent months, the NIA has intensified its crackdown on terror funding, recruitment modules and sleeper cells operating across regions. Similar nationwide operations have earlier led to arrests of several suspects allegedly linked to banned organisations and their attempts to radicalise youth through online and offline channels.Officials said the current raids aim to uncover evidence of a larger conspiracy involving terror financing, recruitment and coordination with handlers across the border.The operation comes amid the central government’s repeated emphasis on a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and directives to security agencies to strengthen preventive action against such threats.