In a significant turn in the case involving American mercenary Matthew Aaron VanDyke and six Ukrainian nationals, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has dropped charges under India’s anti-terror law in its chargesheet filed in the matter.
VanDyke and the six Ukrainian nationals were arrested in March after Indian agencies carried out a secret operation at various airports. The group had initially been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) over allegations that they were involved in training anti-India ethnic armed groups in Myanmar.
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However, the chargesheet filed by the NIA seven months after their arrests does not invoke the UAPA. Instead, the agency has charged VanDyke and the other accused under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act.
These provisions relate to violations involving the entry, movement and stay of foreign nationals in India.
The development marks a major shift from the initial allegations against the accused. The case had drawn attention because of VanDyke’s alleged activities in Myanmar and the claims surrounding the group’s links with ethnic armed organisations operating there.
According to the details in the NIA chargesheet, the agency has outlined how VanDyke and the Ukrainian nationals entered India and described their activities in Myanmar. The arrests followed an investigation into their alleged involvement in training ethnic armed groups that were described as anti-India.
VanDyke, a US national, was among those detained during the coordinated operation. The group was arrested at different airports as Indian agencies investigated their movements and activities.
The initial invocation of the UAPA had placed the case under India’s stringent counter-terrorism framework. The decision not to include the anti-terror law in the chargesheet therefore represents a significant change in the legal position of the case.
Instead, the NIA has proceeded under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, focusing on alleged violations connected to the presence and activities of foreign nationals in India.
The chargesheet was filed seven months after the arrests and provides details of the accused persons’ entry into India as well as their reported activities in Myanmar. The agency’s allegations regarding their activities outside India formed an important part of the investigation.
The latest development does not, however, erase the circumstances surrounding the arrests or the investigation into the group. The NIA has continued to pursue the case under provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act rather than the anti-terror legislation initially applied to the accused.
The case involving VanDyke and the six Ukrainians now moves forward under a substantially different legal framework. What began with allegations serious enough to trigger the UAPA has resulted in a chargesheet centred on alleged immigration and foreigners-law violations.
The development is likely to draw attention to the agency’s decision to change the legal provisions applied to the accused as the case proceeds through the judicial process.
