A special NIA court has permitted seven foreign nationals, including US citizen Matthew VanDyke, to return home for one month. The decision follows their March arrest in a terror conspiracy case involving drone training in Myanmar. The move has drawn criticism from the Congress party, which claims the government removed stringent UAPA charges from the chargesheet due to diplomatic pressure.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in New Delhi has granted permission for seven foreign nationals, including US citizen Matthew VanDyke and six Ukrainian citizens, to travel to their home countries for a period of one month. This decision comes months after the group was apprehended in March following investigations into allegations of providing drone training, assembly, and jamming technology to armed groups operating across the Myanmar border.
The court’s decision has triggered an immediate political reaction, with the Indian National Congress questioning the legal trajectory of the case. Senior Congress leadership has specifically highlighted the modification of the NIA chargesheet filed on September 8. The opposition party has pointed to the removal of stringent provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as a point of contention, alleging that this change reflects government yielding to foreign diplomatic pressure rather than a shift in investigative evidence.
The case, which initially drew significant attention due to its focus on high-profile terror conspiracy allegations, has raised questions regarding administrative transparency. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera has sought clarification on the original entry protocols, questioning how these foreign nationals managed to navigate travel into the Mizoram region and subsequently across the border into Myanmar.
Opposition leaders have also contrasted the current court-permitted departure with the stricter protocols usually applied to Indian citizens deported from abroad, suggesting an inconsistency in the state's handling of the situation. As of now, the government has not issued a formal statement addressing the rationale behind the removal of the UAPA charges or the specific terms regarding the travel permission. The individuals are expected to depart India shortly under the court’s current oversight. The investigation remains a point of public discussion as authorities manage the legal proceedings and diplomatic implications of the case.