UAPA: Charges remain against US citizen, 6 Ukrainians

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has not discontinued the terror investigation against US citizen Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and six Ukrainian nationals, despite filing charges under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, officials revealed. The charges stem from allegations of illegal entry into Myanmar and drone-warfare training for ethnic armed groups, according to sources.

A senior official clarified that the investigation continues against all the accused. The NIA has filed a chargesheet under the Immigration and Foreigners Act as these offenses have been thoroughly investigated. If the chargesheet was not submitted within the 180-day judicial custody period, the accused could have sought bail. However, the statutory 180-day deadline passed on September 8, and the NIA has now submitted the chargesheet.

This development should not be misconstrued as the closure of the broader investigation. The chargesheet clearly states that the UAPA investigation continues, according to officials. The law also permits further investigation and the filing of a supplementary chargesheet if additional evidence surfaces, establishing further offenses. Therefore, the absence of UAPA provisions in the present chargesheet does not imply a withdrawal, abandonment, or closure of the UAPA probe, the officials emphasized.

The US national and Ukrainian nationals - Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor - were booked and arrested under section 18 of the UAPA, along with other offenses. The section pertains to conspiracy for terrorist activities and organizing terror camps.

When asked about US diplomats raising concerns regarding one of the detained citizens, officials noted that this is a routine diplomatic procedure.