NIA gets 10-day custody of 7 foreign nationals held for suspected Myanmar links

A Delhi court on Friday (March 27, 2026) extended by 10 days the remand of seven foreign nationals who are in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) over suspected links to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. The agency had sought a 15-day custody for their interrogation.

Special judge Prashant Sharma, who conducted the proceedings at the NIA headquarters citing the sensitive nature of the investigation and its possible international ramifications, directed that the accused be produced before the court again on April 6.

The accused are U.S. national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and six Ukrainian nationals — Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor. They were arrested earlier this month. The NIA said they were involved in supplying weapons and military hardware to ethnic armed groups operating in Myanmar, and training them. The case against them was registered under Section 18 (conspiracy) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The court sources said the accused moved a plea on Friday seeking the appointment of an independent translator to ensure fair proceedings.

According to the NIA, the accused entered India on tourist visas and travelled to Guwahati before proceeding to Mizoram without obtaining the required permits. They are said to have then crossed into Myanmar illegally to train ethnic armed olrganisations.