Delhi court permits NIA questioning of US, Ukrainian nationals in Tihar

A Delhi court on Monday, August 31, permitted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to interrogate two foreign nationals lodged in Tihar jail in connection with a terror conspiracy case allegedly linked to ethnic armed groups in India.

The agency has been allowed to question US citizen Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and Ukrainian national Kaminskyi Viktor, both of whom are currently in judicial custody.

Special Judge Prashant Sharma granted the NIA permission to interrogate the two accused inside Tihar jail on September 2 and 3.

The NIA had arrested Van Dyke on March 13 along with six Ukrainian nationals, including Viktor, after they allegedly entered India from Myanmar through the Mizoram border and were subsequently intercepted at different airports across the country.

The other Ukrainian nationals arrested in the case are Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian and Honcharuk Maksim.

The group is suspected of having operated as mercenaries and is being investigated in connection with an alleged wider terror conspiracy involving assistance to ethnic armed groups in India and Myanmar.

The agency is also probing allegations that the accused provided drone training to such groups.

On March 16, the court had granted the NIA 11 days' custody of the accused. They were subsequently remanded to judicial custody.

The latest court order allows investigators to question Van Dyke and Viktor while they remain lodged in Tihar jail as part of the ongoing probe.