The first branch of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a federal agency set up in Delhi for terror probe in the wake of the 26/11 attacks, has gone to Hyderabad rather than Mumbai thanks to logistic reasons like accessibility.

The choice fell on Hyderabad since half of the 16 cases the NIA has taken up for investigation are from the south, six of them from Kerala alone. The location in Hyderabad will facilitate quick movement of the NIA personnel which was becoming
difficult from its headquarters in Delhi, a Home Ministry official said.

Described as a field office to be headed by a police officer of the DIG rank, the branch is expected to be operational by August 15. Its jurisdiction will extend up to Maharashtra and Goa, besides all the southern states.

Besides six Kerala cases of bomb explosions, the NIA will also transfer two Goan cases under investigation to the field office once it becomes operational. These relate to a bomb explosion in Margao and another relating to recovery of improvised explosive device (IED) at Sancoale.

The Home Ministry last week notified opening of the Hyderabad office of NIA by issuing a circular to state police and central police organisations inviting applications from the serving officers for filling up the posts there on "urgent basis."

The posts so advertised include those of a senior public prosecutor, biology and explosives experts, a forensic psychologist, inspectors and constables.