A court in New Delhi has sent seven foreign nationals to 11 days of custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a case related to alleged insurgent activities.
The accused include three Ukrainian nationals arrested in New Delhi, three individuals detained in Lucknow, and one US citizen taken into custody in Kolkata.
The matter was heard in a closed courtroom by Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma. While the NIA had sought 15 days of custody to continue its investigation, the court approved 11 days.
Officials said the case centres on allegations that the foreign nationals entered India on valid visas but later travelled to restricted regions without the necessary permission.
Investigators stated that the group first travelled to Mizoram, which falls under protected area regulations, before crossing the border into Myanmar. There, they are believed to have established contact with ethnic armed groups.
The National Investigation Agency has further alleged that the accused received training in Myanmar and were also involved in training certain ethnic groups. Some of these groups are reportedly linked to insurgent outfits active in parts of India.
Officials also claim that the accused were involved in bringing a large consignment of drones from Europe, which has now become a key focus of the investigation.
