6 hrs ago
NIA Links Foreign Nationals to Myanmar Drone Attack
Indian investigators say seven foreign nationals may have helped groups using drones in Myanmar.
The group includes six Ukrainians and one American.
Investigators say some Ukrainians travelled through India into Myanmar without required permits.
They allegedly trained armed groups to build, operate, and block drones.
The NIA also says drones and parts were brought from Europe through India.
A civilian airplane in Myanmar was reportedly hit by a suicide drone, although it is unclear whether this is the same attack.
The agency wants to question two jailed men about evidence found on digital devices.
Their lawyers say the request does not provide a new or specific reason, but a judge approved the questioning.
The NIA told a Delhi court that six Ukrainians and one American were linked to alleged terrorist activities against India.
The agency said some Ukrainian and United States nationals were involved in a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in Myanmar.
According to the NIA, Ukrainians entered India, travelled to Mizoram, and illegally crossed into Myanmar for drone-warfare training.
The agency is examining digital devices and seeks to question Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and Viktor Kaminskyi in Tihar Jail.
Defense lawyers called the interrogation request an afterthought, while the court allowed the NIA to proceed.
- Who
- The National Investigation Agency, seven detained foreign nationals, and their lawyers.
- What
- The NIA alleges the suspects were connected to drone training, supplies, and a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in Myanmar.
- Where
- The investigation involves India, Mizoram, Myanmar, and Tihar Jail in Delhi.
- When
- The suspects were detained in March; a court allowed interrogation on August 31.
- Why
- The NIA says questioning is needed to examine digital evidence, identify other suspects, and uncover a wider conspiracy.
NIA Allegations
Defense Position
Need for interrogation
NIA Allegations
The NIA says questioning Van Dyke and Kaminskyi is necessary to confront them with witness accounts, analyze digital evidence, and identify alleged masterminds in Myanmar.
Defense Position
Defense lawyers argue that the application gives no fresh or specific reason for interrogation and was an afterthought.
Alleged terrorist links
NIA Allegations
The NIA says the accused supplied drones and training to ethnic armed groups connected with proscribed Indian insurgent groups and terrorist activities.
Defense Position
Van Dyke maintains that he is innocent, while his representatives have called for United States diplomatic intervention and said he has been denied basic detainee rights.
Myanmar aircraft attack
NIA Allegations
The NIA told the court that Ukrainian and United States nationals were involved in a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in Myanmar.
Defense Position
The reported attack described by Burma News International has not been definitively identified as the incident cited in the NIA application.
Key facts
- Detainees
- Six Ukrainians and one American are being held in Tihar Jail.
- American detainee
- Matthew Aaron Van Dyke was detained at Kolkata airport on March 13.
- Ukrainian detainee
- Viktor Kaminskyi is one of the six Ukrainians the NIA wants to interrogate.
- Alleged route
- The NIA says Ukrainians entered India on tourist visas, travelled to Guwahati and Mizoram, and crossed into Myanmar without required permits.
- Alleged activities
- The agency alleges training in drone warfare, operations, assembly, and jamming for Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups.
- Aircraft incident
- Burma News International reported that an FPV suicide drone struck a Myanmar National Airlines passenger aircraft at Myitkyina airport on February 20; the NIA did not specify whether this was the attack it referenced.
- Investigation status
- Digital devices seized from the accused are undergoing forensic examination, and a chargesheet was expected the following week.
Quotes
National Investigation Agency
India’s federal agency investigating the alleged terrorist conspiracy
“It is an admitted position that…NIA is investigating mentioned accused persons,…there is no specific law/ judgment to the effect that this court should or can refuse NIA from doing so. Courts ordinarily are not supposed to interfere with investigation.”
indianexpress.com
“These EAGs are also known to support certain proscribed Indian insurgent groups by supplying weapons, terrorist hardware and training them thus affecting national security and interest of India.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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