India has received a request from Ukraine for consular access to six Ukrainian nationals arrested by law enforcement on charges of illegally entering Mizoram and training ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, and the issue will be addressed in line with legal requirements, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday.
The Ukrainian nationals and a US citizen were arrested at airports in Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata as part of a National Investigation Agency (NIA) operation on March 13. A Delhi court has remanded them in NIA custody till March 27.
“This is a legal matter, the relevant [government] agencies are investigating it presently,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing in response to several questions regarding the arrest of the Ukrainian nationals.
While acknowledging that the Indian side has received Ukraine’s request for consular access to the arrested individuals, Jaiswal said this will be “addressed keeping in mind the legal requirements that are involved in this particular case”. He did not provide details.
Ukraine on Thursday expressed “serious concern” about the “possible orchestrated and politically motivated nature” of the case against the Ukrainian nationals following reports that Russian authorities had shared information on the matter with their Indian counterparts.
{{/usCountry}}Ukraine on Thursday expressed “serious concern” about the “possible orchestrated and politically motivated nature” of the case against the Ukrainian nationals following reports that Russian authorities had shared information on the matter with their Indian counterparts.
{{/usCountry}}The Ukrainian embassy rejected any insinuations regarding the “possible involvement of the Ukrainian State in supporting terrorist activities” and said Kyiv is ready to actively cooperate with New Delhi on the case on the basis of the bilateral Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
Jaiswal was also asked about a meeting on Wednesday between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and US ambassador Sergio Gor and replied that this was part of normal conversations between the two sides. He said Doval and Gor discussed issues of bilateral importance but did not give details.
According to NIA’s submission in court, the seven arrested individuals allegedly entered India on tourist visas, flew to Guwahati and then travelled to Mizoram without the requisite documents such as the Restricted Area Permit (RAP). They allegedly “entered Myanmar illegally and they were to conduct a pre-scheduled training for Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups” in drone warfare, NIA said.