India approves new law to combat terrorism

India's president signed an anti-terror bill into law yesterday 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.