New Delhi, 18 September (H.S.): Special Judge Prashant Sharma of the Rouse Avenue Court has granted bail to US citizen Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, who has been accused of travelling to India and providing training to ethnic groups in the Northeast. The court ordered his release on bail against a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and a surety of an equal amount.

On September 17, the court issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The agency had filed a charge sheet on September 8, naming seven foreign nationals under Sections 21 and 23 of the Foreigners Act. Besides Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, the accused include six Ukrainian nationals—Petro Hurba, Ters Slivyak, Ivan Sukmanovsky, Marion Stefankiv, Maksym Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminsky.

The NIA had initially registered an FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the case. However, the UAPA provisions have not been included in the charge sheet. According to the NIA, it will file a supplementary charge sheet in the matter.

Earlier, on August 31, the High Court dismissed a petition challenging the trial court’s order extending the investigation period from 90 days to 180 days.

According to the NIA, the six Ukrainian nationals and the US citizen entered India on foreign visas and subsequently travelled to Mizoram, which is a protected area. They then entered Myanmar and allegedly established contact with ethnic militant groups.

The NIA has alleged that the foreign nationals received training in Myanmar and subsequently provided training to ethnic militant groups. The agency has further alleged that these groups have links with insurgent organisations active in India.

The agency has also alleged that the accused brought a large consignment of drones from Europe.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar