As many as 1,198 people were detained by the police under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) across the country in 2017 and 2018, of whom 563 are still under custody, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy also said 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 the States, followed by Uttar Pradesh.

“A total of 501 people were detained in various parts of the country under the stringent law in 2017, of whom 229 were released by the review boards and 272 are under custody,” he said.

“In 2018, altogether 697 people were detained under the NSA across the country, of whom 406 were released by the review boards and 291 are under custody,” Mr. Reddy added.

In Madhya Pradesh, 795 people were detained under the NSA in 2017 and 2018, of whom 466 were released by the 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 the review boards and 188 are under detention,” the Minister said.