United States national Matthew Aaron VanDyke arrested by National Investigation Agency over alleged links to anti-India groups. Who is he?

An American citizen, Matthew Aaron VanDyke, was arrested by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 13 along with six Ukrainian nationals. The agency alleged that all of them entered India on tourist visas and were in contact with anti-India insurgent groups.

The six Ukrainians were identified as Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefaniv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim and Kaminskyi Viktor.

Who is Matthew VanDyke?

VanDyke, from Baltimore in the US state of Maryland, describes himself as a former soldier, international businessman, war correspondent and columnist. He earlier worked with The Baltimore Examiner, reporting from Iraq while embedded with US forces in 2009.

He also claims to be a veteran of the Libyan revolution, during which he says he was held as a prisoner of war, and later founded a military contracting firm, Sons of Liberty International (SOLI), which provides security and training support.

The case against them

According to court documents, the NIA has filed a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which covers conspiracy and support for terrorist activities. A Delhi court has remanded all seven accused to NIA custody until March 27, while investigators continue to search for eight more Ukrainian suspects.

The agency told the court that the accused travelled to Guwahati and then to Mizoram without the required permits before illegally crossing into Myanmar. There, they allegedly trained ethnic armed groups in drone warfare, including operations, assembly and jamming technologies.

The NIA further claimed the group conducted such training multiple times and facilitated the movement of drone equipment from Europe into Myanmar via India. These armed groups are said to have links with banned insurgent outfits operating in India.

Diplomatic reactions

The United States embassy in India said it is “aware of the situation” but declined further comment due to privacy rules.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has formally raised the issue with the Indian government. Its ambassador, Oleksandr Polishchuk, met senior Indian official Sibi George and submitted a protest note seeking immediate consular access and the release of the detained Ukrainian nationals.

The NIA said the investigation is ongoing as it works to uncover the broader network behind the alleged activities.