The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested six Ukrainians and one American citizen. They are accused of allegedly entering Mizoram without permission and plotting terrorist activities in India.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has lodged a protest with India over the arrest of its six citizens. According to a report from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk met with Secretary (West) Sibi George at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and demanded consular access to the Ukrainian citizens and their immediate release.
According to reports, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested six Ukrainians and one American citizen for allegedly supporting ethnic militant groups in Myanmar by supplying weapons and terrorist equipment and providing them training. This is Ukraine’s response to this.
The accused have been identified as Matthew Aaron Van Dyke (a US citizen) and six Ukrainian nationals, Hurba Petro, Sliviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovsky, Stefankiv Marion, Honcharuk Maxim, and Kaminsky Viktor. They have been arrested in a case registered under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other relevant sections.
Several teams of the investigating agency had arrested seven people last week. Van Dyke, a US citizen, was caught at the Kolkata airport, while the remaining six were detained at Lucknow and Delhi airports. According to inputs from the NIA, all seven had valid Indian visas but had travelled to Mizoram without the required restricted area permit.
Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma on Monday (March 16) remanded all seven accused to NIA custody for 11 days. Seeking 15 days of custody, the NIA stated that the accused, who are associated with ethnic armed groups, are supporting some banned Indian insurgent groups by supplying weapons, terrorist equipment, and training them. The agency stated that these activities certainly impact national security and India’s interests.
While granting 11 days’ remand, the court observed that the FIR does not mention anything about the illegal activities being carried out by the accused against national security and India’s interests. In other words, Section 18 of the UAPA applies broadly.
Special Public Prosecutor Atul Tyagi, along with Amit Rohila and others, appeared for the NIA. The allegation is that the accused entered Myanmar via Mizoram and contacted ethnic armed groups.
When asked about the detention of the US citizen, a US Embassy spokesperson said they were aware of the situation. “Due to confidentiality, we cannot comment on matters involving US citizens.” They added that it was unclear why the foreign national was in Mizoram.