A Delhi court will hear the Myanmar training case this Friday, focusing on whether US national Mathew Aaron VanDyke returns to India. People close to him said, "He is expected to come back and attend the next court date - set on Friday." The NIA is currently waiting for his confirmation.
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.
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.
HT is trying to get in touch with VanDyke's family in the US.
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 federal agency did not press for their physical presence in India despite keeping its UAPA probe against them open, and agreed on their travel back home after they furnished personal undertakings, and provided their residential address and contact details.
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. 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.
NIA had earlier alleged the seven accused had illegally entered Myanmar through Mizoram without valid travel documents and participated in a pre-scheduled training programme for Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups targeting the Myanmar military junta.
The US national is being represented by advocates Rohit Gour and Rohit Dandriyal. They are yet to comment on his return.
NIA has alleged that for nearly three months, the seven accused imparted training in drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology to members of Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups, including the Chin National Front (CNF) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
It has also claimed that VanDyke and others received logistical support from the members of CNF and the mission was financed through funds arranged by a commander of a Myanmar-based rebel group.
NIA has so far not commented on the return of the accused to their countries.