NEW DELHI - INDIA'S president signed an anti-terror bill into law on Wednesday to boost police powers in the wake of a bloody attack on the country's financial capital, officials said.
President Pratibha Patil approved the bill along with another one that will create an FBI-style national investigation agency, said Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, the country's top law enforcement official.
Parliament passed the bills following the Nov 26-29 attack on Mumbai by suspected Islamic terrorists that killed 164 people. Human rights groups have criticized the legislation, saying it violates international rights treaties.
The new anti-terror law doubles the number of days police can detain terror suspects before filing charges from 90 days to 180, and boosts police powers to conduct searches.
The Mumbai attacks revealed glaring gaps in the nation's security systems and a shaky intelligence apparatus that missed several warning signs of the siege, which lasted for three days and paralyzed much of India's financial capital.
The two new laws are intended to beef up the powers of India's police and judicial system to combat terrorists. -- AP
