NIA Tells Delhi Court 7 Foreign Nationals Arrested In Terror Case Linked To Myanmar Drone Attack

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told a Delhi court that seven foreign nationals arrested in March for allegedly conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India were also involved in a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in neighbouring Myanmar, The Indian Express reported. The agency has sought to interrogate two of the accused in Tihar Jail, saying digital evidence and witness statements point to a larger conspiracy involving drone warfare and Myanmar-based armed groups.

The accused — six Ukrainians and an American — have been in Tihar Jail since April. On August 31, Special Judge Prashant Sharma allowed the NIA to interrogate American national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and Ukrainian national Viktor Kaminskyi.

In an application dated August 19, the NIA said the Central Government had received “credible information” about the involvement of Ukrainian and US nationals in a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in Myanmar.

NIA Alleges Drone Training, Arms Supply Through India

The report said that, according to the agency, 14 Ukrainian nationals entered India on tourist visas on different dates and travelled to Guwahati before moving to Mizoram. The NIA alleges that they entered Myanmar illegally without the required Restricted Area Permit or Protected Area Permit to undergo pre-scheduled training in drone warfare, operations, assembly and jamming technology.

The agency further alleged that the accused had travelled through Mizoram on earlier occasions, conducted similar training and helped illegally transport large consignments of drones and drone components from Europe to Myanmar through India.

The NIA said the equipment was intended for use by Myanmar-based Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs), some of which have been fighting Myanmar's military junta since the February 2021 coup.

The agency also alleged that these groups are known to support certain proscribed Indian insurgent organisations by supplying weapons, terrorist hardware and training, potentially affecting India's national security.

A Myanmar-based media network had reported in February that a Myanmar National Airlines ATR 72-600 passenger aircraft preparing for take-off at Myitkyina airport in Kachin state was struck by an FPV suicide drone. The NIA's court application did not specify whether this was the attack to which it was referring.

Why Does NIA Want To Interrogate The Two Accused?

The report stated that the agency told the court that multiple digital devices seized from the accused had been sent for forensic examination. While some reports have been received, the NIA said the volume of data required further analysis.

It claimed that images, videos and voice samples recovered from the devices contained incriminating information that investigators needed to confront the accused with and corroborate with witness accounts.

The agency said interrogation of Van Dyke and Kaminskyi was necessary to establish the “larger conspiracy” and gather information about other suspects, including alleged masterminds operating from Myanmar.

Van Dyke was detained at Kolkata airport on March 13, while the six Ukrainians — Kaminskyi, Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv and Maksim Honcharuk — were detained at airports in Lucknow and Delhi. They were produced before the Special NIA Court at Patiala House on March 14 and have remained in Tihar since April 6.

The NIA is expected to question the two men with the assistance of a Ukrainian translator, the report said. Investigators will also carry laptops, mobile phones and other equipment to the prison. A chargesheet is expected to be filed next week.

While allowing the interrogation, Judge Sharma said courts ordinarily should not interfere with an ongoing investigation and found no specific legal basis to prevent the NIA from questioning the accused.

Defence lawyers, however, argued that the agency had not cited any fresh or specific grounds for the interrogation and described its application as an “afterthought”.

Van Dyke, 46, describes himself on his website as a participant in the 2011 Libyan Civil War against Muammar Gaddafi. A pinned post on his X account, attributed to his family, says he is innocent and alleges that he has been denied basic detainee rights and kept in solitary confinement at Tihar Jail.