With the next hearing in an alleged conspiracy case involving seven foreign nationals who trained ethnic militias in Myanmar after travelling there via India scheduled for Friday, all eyes are on whether US national Mathew Aaron VanDyke will return to India.
VanDyke and six Ukrainian nationals – arrested in March this year under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act or UAPA that were later dropped by the agency in its charge sheet filed in September – were allowed by a Delhi court to return to their countries in the last week of September for a month on a condition that they will rejoin the investigations. The seven accused were only charged under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, which is a compounding offence, by NIA in its charge sheet. The six Ukrainians – Hurba Petro, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi – were arrested at Delhi and Lucknow airports the same day.
VanDyke was arrested on March 13 at Kolkata airport under section 18 of the UAPA, which relates to conspiracy, advocacy, abetment or incitement to commit a terrorist act.
HT is trying to get in touch with VanDyke’s family in the US.
People close to VanDyke, who did not want to be named, said he would return to India and join the court proceedings on Friday since he had already booked his return ticket from the US. However, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, is waiting for a confirmation from VanDyke.
“He is expected to come back and attend the next court date – set on Friday,” one of them said.
