New Delhi, April 6 A Delhi court on Monday sent seven foreign nationals, including six Ukrainians, accused of breaching national security, to 30 days in judicial custody.
The foreign nationals were produced before NIA Special Judge Prashant Sharma after the completion of their NIA custody. They are being investigated for a wide-ranging terror conspiracy which involves suspected links to ethnic rebel groups in India and Myanmar, and providing them with drone training.
On March 16, the court allowed 11 days of custody to the federal agency for interrogation, which was then extended by another 10 days.
On Monday, the judge allowed the NIA's plea seeking judicial custody of the accused, identified as US national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and Ukrainian nationals Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor.
US national Van Dyke moved an application seeking permission to make a video call to his family members and to meet with his counsel.
The judge sought a response from the special cell and posted the matter for further proceedings on April 8.
In the remand application on March 16, the investigating officer, citing the FIR, said that some Ukrainians had entered India on tourist visas on separate dates and flew to Guwahati, from where they travelled to Mizoram without obtaining the necessary documents, such as the Restricted Area Permit or Protected Area Permit.
Thereafter, these individuals illegally entered Myanmar to provide pre-scheduled training to Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAO) in that country, the IO said.
In its order allowing NIA custody, the court said that the allegations made in the FIR should not be seen in a piecemeal manner.
"No doubt the FIR in question talks about the accused persons travelling to Mizoram, which is a prohibited area, without permission and thereafter crossing over to Myanmar illegally. But it also mentions that the accused persons, linked to Ethnic Armed Organisations (in Myanmar), are also supporting certain proscribed Indian insurgent groups by supplying weapons and terrorist hardware and imparting training to them," the order said.
It said these allegations definitely involved national security and the country's interests, and broadly attract Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The agency further said that the scope of the investigation is "very wide", covering not just the commission of acts but also the "advocacy, incitement, and preparation" of terrorist activities.