New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh)— A special Delhi court has granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) 11-day custody of a United States citizen and six Ukrainian nationals accused of infiltrating India to train Myanmar-based Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs). Special Judge Prashant Sharma, presiding over the matter on Monday, March 16, ruled that the suspects would remain in NIA custody until March 27 to allow for a deeper investigation into a potential larger conspiracy involving Indian insurgent groups. The accused have been identified as US citizen Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and Ukrainian nationals Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor. The court observed that because criminal conspiracies are typically hatched in secrecy rather than in broad daylight, the agency required adequate time to interrogate the suspects and analyze recovered digital devices to trace masterminds and funding sources.
The allegations against the group involve significant breaches of national security and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, specifically Section 18 regarding conspiracy. According to the NIA’s submission, a total of 14 Ukrainian nationals had entered India on tourist visas before traveling to Guwahati and subsequently to Mizoram—a prohibited area requiring Restricted Area Permits (RAP) and Protected Area Permits (PAP). From there, they allegedly crossed illegally into Myanmar to conduct pre-scheduled training for EAGs, which are known to support proscribed Indian insurgent groups by supplying weapons, terrorist hardware, and training. The investigation also revealed that the group was involved in illegally importing large consignments of drones from Europe into Myanmar via India to support these insurgent operations.
The arrests were made following coordinated efforts by the Bureau of Immigration, which detained the suspects at various domestic airports including Kolkata, Lucknow, and Delhi after they returned from the border regions. During the remand proceedings, the judge noted that the FIR goes beyond mere immigration violations, highlighting the direct link between the accused and groups that threaten India’s sovereign interests. The court further emphasized that procedural laws must serve the ends of justice, especially when the allegations concern the country’s national security. To ensure the welfare of the detainees, the court has ordered a medical examination every 48 hours during their period in NIA custody.
The NIA intends to use the 11-day window to establish the full route taken by the accused, identify unknown associates, and dismantle the logistics network used to transport high-tech hardware like drones across Indian territory. The court expressed satisfaction that all constitutional and statutory requirements were met during the arrest process, noting that the grounds for arrest were provided to the suspects in both English and their native languages. As the interrogation proceeds, the agency aims to unearth the financial trail supporting these operations, which involve international actors coordinating with groups active in the volatile border regions between India and Myanmar.
