Special Judge Prashant Sharma of the Delhi court granted default bail to United States national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke on Friday, striking a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and an equivalent surety, and instructing him to stay within Delhi and assist the National Investigation Agency.
The NIA’s chargesheet, filed earlier this month, lists seven accused under sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act for illegal entry and movement, but it does not invoke the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, citing the need for further verification of alleged UAPA violations.
According to the NIA, Van Dyke and six Ukrainian nationals allegedly entered India in December 2025 on tourist visas, crossed the Myanmar border, and went to Victoria Camp in Myanmar to provide drone training to ethnic armed groups, while also staying in hotels in Guwahati and other locations without the required Protected Area Permit for Mizoram.
The group was apprehended at three major Indian airports: Van Dyke at Kolkata on March 13, and the Ukrainians—Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk, and Viktor Kaminskyi—at Lucknow and Delhi airports on the same day, with authorities alleging mercenary activities.
With the bail in place, the NIA will continue its investigation, and a subsequent hearing is scheduled for mid‑June, during which the agency will present new evidence on the alleged terror conspiracy and drone training links.