Delhi Court grants 11-day NIA custody to six Ukrainians

A Delhi court on Thursday granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) 11-day custody of six Ukrainian nationals and one US citizen accused of training Myanmar-based Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs) linked to proscribed insurgent groups in India.

The accused allegedly entered India from Myanmar via Mizoram without the required permits and were intercepted at airports in Kolkata, Lucknow, and Delhi . According to the NIA, they conducted pre-scheduled training for these groups and illegally imported drones from Europe to Myanmar, potentially supplying weapons and other terrorist hardware.

Special Judge Prashant Sharma noted that criminal conspiracies are hatched in secrecy and emphasized the necessity of NIA custody to interrogate the accused, analyze data on recovered devices, and identify co-conspirators. The court also observed that the allegations concern national security and fall under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The court directed medical examinations of the accused every 48 hours and confirmed that all constitutional and statutory procedures were followed during their arrests. The NIA custody has been extended until March 27 to facilitate further investigation.