US national Mathew VanDyke appeared before a Delhi court on Friday after returning to India, following permission to stay in his home country for a month in connection with an alleged Myanmar arms training case, people familiar with the development said.
A court order issued last month required VanDyke to appear before it within 72 hours of his return, one of the persons said. “He is currently completing formalities in the court,” the person added, requesting anonymity.
The six Ukrainian nationals arrested alongside VanDyke have not yet returned to India.
Court had allowed accused to return home
A Delhi court last month permitted VanDyke and the six Ukrainians to travel to their respective countries, subject to the condition that they would rejoin the investigation when required.
The seven were arrested on March 13 under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). However, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) dropped the UAPA charges in its chargesheet filed in September and charged them under the Immigration and Foreigners Act.
The alleged violations under the latter law can be compounded. VanDyke paid the prescribed compounding fees and was granted default bail last month. The NIA, however, said its investigation under the UAPA was continuing.
The six Ukrainian nationals are Hurba Petro, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi.
NIA alleged training for Myanmar armed groups
The NIA had alleged that the seven entered Myanmar illegally through Mizoram without valid travel documents and took part in a pre-arranged training programme for ethnic armed groups fighting the country's military junta.
According to the agency, they spent nearly three months training members of Myanmar-based groups, including the Chin National Front (CNF) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), in drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology.
The agency also alleged that members of the CNF provided logistical support to VanDyke and the others. It further claimed that a commander of a Myanmar-based rebel group arranged funds to finance the mission.
The case remains under investigation by the NIA, which has said its probe under the UAPA is ongoing.