Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: The National Investigation Agency filed a chargesheet against seven foreign nationals for violating immigration laws. The group includes US citizen Matthew Aaron VanDyke and six Ukrainian men. They face counts under the Immigration and Foreigners Act. The accused allegedly trained Ethnic Armed Organisations and Peoples Defence Forces at Camp Victoria in Myanmar.
The Ukrainians include Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk, and Viktor Kaminskyi. Investigators claim they operated as mercenaries. They arrived in India on tourist visas in December 2025. They visited Guwahati, then moved to Mizoram. They skipped the mandatory Protected Area Permit for the border region.
Special Judge Prashant Sharma received the filing. The NIA did not trigger the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act yet. Officials need more time to verify the facts. The agency is looking into the potential import of drones and digital evidence. Agents are also checking for ties to insurgent groups in India. The chargesheet noted: "A substantial part of the further investigation with respect to the offences committed under UA(P) Act, 1967 has been completed."
VanDyke fell into custody at Kolkata airport. The other six men were picked up on March 13 in Lucknow and Delhi. The NIA now seeks permission to continue a broader investigation into the conspiracy. They suspect the group threatened national security. More charges could follow later.
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