Centre tells Parliament nearly 1,200 detained under stringent NSA by police in 2017, 2018; 563 still in custody

New Delhi: Nearly 1,200 people across the country were detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) by police in 2017 and 2018, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said on Monday. Of these, 563 are still in custody, the minister said in the Rajya Sabha. According to the latest published report of 2018 of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Madhya Pradesh detained the highest number of people under the NSA in 2017 and 2018 among all states followed by Uttar Pradesh, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Upper House, A total of 501 people were detained in different parts of the country under the stringent law in 2017. Of these, 229 were released by review boards and 272 are under custody, he said. In 2018, 697 people were detained under the NSA across the country and 406 were released by review boards while 291 are under custody, Reddy added. In Madhya Pradesh, 795 people were detained under the NSA in 2017 and 2018; 466 were released by review boards and 329 are under custody. In Uttar Pradesh, of the 338 people detained under the NSA in 2017 and 2018, 150 were released by review boards and 188 are under detention, the minister said.