US National Mathew VanDyke Appears Before Delhi Court in Myanmar Arms Training Case
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
US national Mathew VanDyke appeared before a Delhi court on Friday after returning to India from his home country, where he had been allowed to stay for a month. The court had reportedly directed him to appear within 72 hours of his return. According to people familiar with the matter, he is currently completing court formalities. The six Ukrainian nationals arrested along with him on March 13 have not yet returned to India.
Last month, the Delhi court allowed VanDyke and the six Ukrainian nationals to return to their respective countries on the condition that they would rejoin the investigation. The seven were arrested in March in connection with alleged training activities involving armed groups in Myanmar, and their return was permitted while the investigation continued.
NIA Drops UAPA Charges in Chargesheet
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) dropped charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the seven accused in its chargesheet filed in September. Instead, they were charged under the Immigration and Foreigners Act for alleged violations of immigration rules. VanDyke paid the required fees to settle the alleged violations under the Act and was granted default bail by the court last month. However, the NIA said its investigation under the UAPA was still continuing.
The six Ukrainian nationals are Hurba Petro, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi. None of them has returned to India so far, according to the available information. The court had allowed all seven accused to travel to their home countries on the condition that they would cooperate with the investigation.
NIA Alleges Drone Training for Myanmar Armed Groups
The NIA alleged that the seven accused entered Myanmar illegally through Mizoram without valid travel documents and took part in a planned training programme for ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar's military government. The NIA reportedly claimed that the accused trained members of the Chin National Front (CNF) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), two armed groups based in Myanmar. The agency further alleged that CNF members provided logistical support to the accused and that a commander of a Myanmar-based rebel group arranged funds for the operation.
