New Delhi, Sep 8: The NIA on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against seven foreign nationals, including US national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, for illegal entry, stay and movement, but did not invoke the anti-terror law UA(P)A, after arresting them in a terror conspiracy case for alleged links to ethnic armed groups in India.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheet, filed before Special Judge Prashant Sharma, accused the seven of offences under sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act and said “more time is required to ascertain and verify the true and complete facts about the commission of offences under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act”.
US national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke had been arrested by the NIA from Kolkata airport, while Ukrainian citizens Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak and Ivan Sukmanovskyi were arrested from Lucknow airport on March 13.
Three other Ukrainians –Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi — were arrested from Delhi airport the same day.
It was alleged that the group was operating as mercenaries.
The NIA had earlier registered the case against them under Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the UA(P)A along with sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The chargesheet said, “A substantial part of the further investigation with respect to the offences committed under UA(P) Act, 1967 has been completed.”
“Further investigation is undergoing and more time is required to ascertain and verify the true and complete facts about the commission of offences under UA(P)A in view of import and recovery of huge quantity of drones and accessories through India and seizure of huge number of digital devices whose scrutiny is underway…”
It said that the further probe could “indicate their possible involvement in acts affecting/threatening the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India or strike terror in any section of the people of India in a manner affecting India’s interests.”
“Further investigation under 193(9) BNSS may be allowed to be continued in order to unearth all the aspects of the larger conspiracy in the instant case against the arrested accused persons and others in the instant case,” the chargesheet said.
According to the chargesheet, the NIA arrested the accused persons to probe their larger conspiracy in the present case, besides investigating to establish their involvement with the Indian insurgent groups active in northeastern states.
“During the investigation, it has been revealed that accused Van Dyke and other arrested Ukrainian nationals visited India in December 2025 after obtaining a tourist visa and thereafter crossed the Myanmar border to reach Victoria Camp, Myanmar for providing training to Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs) of Myanmar,” the chargesheet said.
It said the probe revealed that the accused persons reached India in December 2025 and then travelled to Guwahati on different dates and stayed there in different hotels.
“During investigation, it has been revealed that accused 1 (Dyke) along with other Ukrainian Nationals had planned their movement in India and Myanmar in such a way that it does not seem suspicious to anybody,” the final report said.
It said that the agency’s probe conclusively established that the accused had entered India with valid travel documents, but they did not take any mandatory Protected Area Permit (PAP) to visit Mizoram during the end of December 2005.
Mizoram is a notified ‘Protected Area’ as per the Third Schedule of The Immigration and Foreigners Order of 2025, which consolidates India’s legal immigration framework under the overarching Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
“Investigation also revealed that the accused persons entered Myanmar illegally via Mizoram without any valid travel documents to conduct pre-scheduled training on drone warfare, drone operation, assembly and jamming technology to Ethnic Arms Groups in Myanmar in December 2025 and entered India illegally through an unauthorised port of entry in March 2026, thereby violating the condition of the visa issued to them by the Indian Government,” the chargesheet said.
It said that accordingly they were liable to be prosecuted under Section 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years or with a fine up to Rs 3 lakh or both and Section 21 of the Act, punishable with imprisonment of up to 5 years or with a fine up to 5 lakhs or both.
The NIA requested the court to take cognisance of the chargesheet filed against the seven accused foreign nationals under Sections 23 and 21 of the Act.
The court has posted the matter for further proceedings on October 1.
The agency had earlier told the court that the accused were being probed for a wide-ranging terror conspiracy, including assistance to ethnic armed groups in India and Myanmar, and imparting drone training to them.
On March 16, the court allowed the NIA 11 days’ custody of the accused, agreeing with the NIA’s submissions that the allegations against them definitely involved national security and the country’s interests, and broadly attract the UA (P A.
They were later remanded in judicial custody. (PTI)
