Imphal: Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho on Wednesday raised serious alarm over the National Investigation Agency's arrest of seven foreign nationals — six Ukrainian citizens and one American — who are accused of supplying weapons and providing training to ethnic armed groups operating in Myanmar.
Dikho described the alleged foreign involvement in the region's ethnic conflict as one of the gravest threats the state has faced.
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Speaking to ANI, the Deputy Chief Minister did not mince words about the gravity of the development.
"This is a very serious matter. The government has to be very proactive in taking care of this situation because it is one of the most dangerous situations for our state. Our state should take very serious steps on this," Dikho said.
His remarks came as the case drew sharp international attention, with both Ukraine and the United States responding to the arrests of their respective nationals.
The NIA arrested all seven individuals for allegedly supporting ethnic war groups in Myanmar by supplying weapons, terrorist hardware, and combat training.
The seven accused have been identified as:
Matthew Aaron Van Dyke — US citizen
Hurba Petro — Ukrainian citizen
Slyviak Taras — Ukrainian citizen
Ivan Sukmanovskyi — Ukrainian citizen
Stefankiv Marian — Ukrainian citizen
Honcharuk Maksim — Ukrainian citizen
Kaminskyi Viktor — Ukrainian citizen
They have been charged under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act — which pertains to terror conspiracy — along with provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma on Monday remanded all seven accused to 11 days of NIA custody. The agency had originally sought 15 days.
The Ukrainian government responded swiftly to the arrests. Ukraine's Ambassador to India, Dr Oleksandr Polishchuk, met with Sibi George, Secretary (West) at India's Ministry of External Affairs, and handed over an official note of protest demanding the immediate release of the six Ukrainian nationals and consular access to them.
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service confirmed the meeting and said the Embassy is also maintaining contact with other Indian authorities to clarify the circumstances and reasons behind the detention.
The United States Embassy issued a brief statement acknowledging that one of its citizens was among those arrested, but declined to go into detail.
"We are aware of the situation. For privacy reasons, we cannot comment on cases involving US citizens," a US Embassy spokesperson said.