Delhi court extends stay abroad for Matthew VanDyke, six Ukrainians till February 24

A Delhi court on Friday extended till February 24 next year the permission granted to US national Matthew VanDyke and six Ukrainian nationals to remain outside India while the investigation into the Myanmar arms training case continues.

The seven were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March over allegations that they had trained ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. The extension came after the agency told the court that it required more time to investigate several aspects of the case.

VanDyke returns to India for court hearing

VanDyke returned to India on Friday to attend the court hearing after being allowed to stay in his home country for a month. The six Ukrainian nationals, however, have not returned to India.

An earlier Hindustan Times report quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that the court had directed VanDyke to appear before it within 72 hours of returning to India. The direction was issued in an order passed last month.

The court had permitted all seven accused to travel to their respective countries on the condition that they would cooperate with the investigation and rejoin the proceedings as required.

NIA drops UAPA charges in chargesheet

The seven were initially arrested under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a stringent anti-terror law. However, the NIA subsequently dropped the UAPA charges in its chargesheet filed in September.

The agency charged them under the Immigration and Foreigners Act instead. The alleged offences under this law can be compounded, allowing them to be settled through the prescribed legal process.

VanDyke paid the compounding fees for the alleged violations under the Act. The court granted him default bail last month.

The latest extension allows VanDyke and the six Ukrainians to remain outside India until February 24, while the NIA continues its investigation into the allegations.