New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) A Delhi court on Friday extended the judicial custody of six foreign nationals — five Ukrainian citizens and one American national — till August 1 in a case being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) over allegations of imparting terror training in Myanmar.

The six accused were produced before the NIA Court at Patiala House on the expiry of their earlier judicial custody. The court extended their judicial custody by 29 days and listed the matter for further proceedings.

Another Ukrainian national is scheduled to be produced before the court on Saturday.

During the hearing, the six accused consented to the collection of their voice samples after the NIA sought the court’s permission for the same as part of the ongoing investigation.

The seven accused — six Ukrainian nationals and one American citizen — were arrested in connection with an alleged international network involved in imparting weapons and drone training to insurgent groups across the India-Myanmar border.

According to the NIA, the accused had also facilitated the procurement and movement of drones and electronic jamming equipment from Europe for use in the alleged training modules. Investigators have alleged that the accused entered India on tourist visas and were arrested from different parts of the country, including Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata, after allegedly travelling to the northeastern region before illegally crossing into Myanmar. The seven accused include Ukrainian nationals Petro Hubra, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksym Honcharuk, and Viktor Kaminskyi, besides American national VanDyke. The case forms part of a larger NIA probe into an alleged international network involving foreign mercenaries operating in India’s northeastern region.

The anti-terror agency is continuing its investigation to identify the wider network, including possible local facilitators and international linkages.

Earlier, considering security concerns, the Patiala House Court had allowed the NIA’s request to conduct proceedings at its headquarters and directed that future hearings in the case be held there, with the accused to be produced before the presiding judge.

–IANS

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