The National Investigation Agency filed a chargesheet against seven foreign nationals, including a US mercenary Matthew VanDyke, for illegal entry, stay and movement. The probe agency, however, did not invoke the stringent anti-terror law UAPA, after arresting VanDyke and six Ukrainian nationals in a terror conspiracy case.
In its chargesheet filed before Special Judge Prashant Sharma, the NIA accused the seven of offences under sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act.
In March this year, the NIA had arrested US national Matthew VanDyke, and six Ukrainian nationals Kaminskyi Viktor, Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, and Honcharuk Maksim, after accusing them of illegally infiltrating India from Myanmar through the Mizoram border.
The arrested foreign nationals were described as private mercenaries. According to the NIA’s investigation, the accused supplied multiple shipments of drones from Europe to people and organisations in Mizoram. It was underscored that during questioning, they admitted to having “direct contact and abetting their terrorist illegal activities by unknown terrorists carrying AK47 rifles.”
The NIA had also filed a case against them under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act provisions along with sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
NIA says terror conspiracy probe is on, may file supplementary chargesheet
However, the NIA did not invoke the UAPA in the chargesheet despite earlier telling the court that they were investigating the accused persons for a sinister terror conspiracy, including assistance to ethnic armed groups in India and Myanmar, and providing drone training to them.
As the investigation remains on, the non-invocation of UAPA should not be automatically assumed to be an official clean chit. The NIA maintains that the terror conspiracy probe is on and that they may file a supplementary chargesheet later.
Matthew VanDyke’s family had recently sought US diplomatic intervention
Recently, the family of Matthew VanDyke had sought an “urgent” US diplomatic intervention to secure his release, alleging that VanDyke’s detention was “illegal” and that he was being deprived of prescribed medicines and communication with his family.
In a statement, VanDyke’s family even claimed that the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, “briefed” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri about VanDyke’s case during Rubio’s May visit to India.
