India expands intelligence infrastructure in West Bengal with SIB offices and NIA station

The Union Home Ministry has approved the creation of about 40 permanent Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) offices across West Bengal’s border districts with Bangladesh. The plan calls for roughly 50 acres of land to replace rented premises, aiming to improve intelligence collection, surveillance and counter‑infiltration efforts along the border.

The West Bengal state cabinet also approved the establishment of the region’s first National Investigation Agency (NIA) police station. Located on the 16th floor of the NBCC building in New Town, Kolkata, the station will handle all NIA‑registered cases in the state, ending the previous practice of routing FIRs to the agency’s headquarters in New Delhi. The move follows a July 22 cabinet approval and a formal notification on July 30, reflecting the state’s renewed focus on anti‑terror investigations.