Matthew VanDyke, an American citizen, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency along with six Ukrainian individuals on March 13 at the airports in Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata.
The agency said that all of them entered India on tourist visas illegally and were working in contact with anti-India insurgent groups. They also illegally entered Myanmar via Mizoram and contacted ethnic war groups, the NIA has stated.
The individuals have been remanded to NIA custody until March 27 as the investigation continues into their alleged links with armed groups operating in the region.
Among them, the US national Mathew VanDyke has a background described as diverse, with prior roles in conflict zones and private military activities. He is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, and according to his website Sons of Liberty International (SOLI), he worked as a soldier, international businessman, war correspondent and columnist. He was a war correspondent for The Baltimore Examiner, and in January and February of 2009, he was embedded with US forces in Iraq.
VanDyke came into the spotlight in 2011 when he fought alongside anti-Gaddafi rebels in the uprising in Libya.
He was captured during the Libyan conflict and detained for six months in the Tripoli Abu Salim prison before he escaped after the fall of the regime. He claims to be a freedom fighter and documentarian.
He also surfaced in Syria during the uprising in Aleppo, where he said he was filming a documentary on the rebel movement. He later admitted to advising fighters on weaponry based on his experience in Libya, becoming an active participant in the movement.
Critics have said that his involvement in the combat situation undermines journalistic integrity.
The NIA had alleged that VanDyke and the Ukrainian individuals entered India with tourist visas and travelled to Mizoram without the required permits. From there, they reportedly entered Myanmar, where they reportedly conducted training for ethnic armed groups, including drone warfare operations, assembly and jamming technology. The movement has been said to pose security challenges to India.
The others arrested from Lucknow were Ukrainian war veterans: Petro Hurba, Tara Slyviak and Ivan Sukmanovski. Three more Ukrainians, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor, were also held in Delhi recently. Central agencies have claimed that the group is an international terrorist network which was led by Van Dyke. The group has been sent to an 11-day police custody by the court in Delhi, citing possible threats to Indian security.
Ukraine's Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk has met senior officials in India and submitted a formal note seeking consular access and the release of the six detained individuals. The US meanwhile has acknowledged the development, but refused to comment in detail citing privacy of the citizen involved.