Patna: Terming the food served at Delhi’s Tihar Jail as “spicy, oily, deep-fried and greasy”, which he was not accustomed to consuming, US national Matthew VanDyke, arrested by Indian authorities in a terror conspiracy case this March, has sought the court’s nod to cook his own meals.
For this purpose, VanDyke has sought court permission for his family to bring items such as a cooking stove and induction cooker, along with food items such as olive oil and pasta, into the prison cell.
In his plea before a special NIA judge in the national capital, VanDyke stated that he had lost as much as 14 kg in three months of judicial custody, as he was “constrained” to go on a prolonged hunger strike due to his inability to cope with the food served in jail.
VanDyke, along with six Ukrainian nationals, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the grounds of entering the border state of Mizoram illegally, before crossing over to Myanmar and imparting training to Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs) known to support terrorist organisations operating in India and targeting the Myanmar junta.
VanDyke was initially detained at the Kolkata International Airport in March this year. Shortly afterwards, six Ukrainian nationals were detained at airports across Lucknow, Delhi and Mumbai before all of them were handed over to the NIA. He has been in judicial custody at Tihar Jail since 6 April this year.
In his plea moved before the Patiala House Courts, seen by ThePrint, VanDyke argued that “he has been constrained to remain on a hunger strike since 06.05.2026, and as on the date of the present application, the said hunger strike has continued for a period of 50 days”.
“It is submitted that the Applicant/Accused is a citizen of America who is not accustomed to the diet ordinarily served in Indian prison, which is predominantly spicy, oily, deep-fried and greasy in nature,” he stated.
“The Applicant is neither accustomed to nor medically capable of regularly consuming such food, as the same has caused severe physical discomfort and has adversely affected his overall health. Consequently, despite his willingness to maintain adequate nutrition, he has been unable to consume the prison meals, resulting in his continuing hunger strike,” he added.
VanDyke also flagged another health risk at the jail—he sought the court’s order directing prison officials to provide him with mosquito repellent, nets or other suitable protective measures.
“That the Applicant further submits that there is a substantial presence of mosquitoes within the prison premises and his cell, considering the Applicant’s weakened physical condition and reduced immunity, he is vulnerable to mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue,” he said.
“It is therefore necessary that appropriate preventive measures, that is, mosquito nets, mosquito repellent or any other suitable protective measures permissible under the Prison Rules, be provided to safeguard his health,” added the plea moved by his counsel in court.
The court has listed the matter for arguments on 21 July, when the Tihar Jail administration has been asked to submit their response to VanDyke’s plea.
The case against VanDyke
A political science graduate from the University of Maryland, VanDyke pursued a Master’s degree in security studies at Georgetown University. According to the bio on his website, he was the youngest of the lot to be accepted into the university’s security studies programme, and that his Master’s thesis was based on why Osama bin Laden-led “Al Qaeda targets” the US.
He was arrested by the Indian authorities on 13 March this year, following which he was sent to NIA custody. A team of the agency’s counsel, comprising special public prosecutor Rahul Tyagi and advocates Jatin Khatri and Amit Rohilla, argued that the group of foreign nationals had crossed over to Myanmar to carry out “pre-scheduled training for Myanmar-based Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs)” allegedly using Indian soil to launch “drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology, etc., targeting the Myanmar Junta”.
During court proceedings, NIA counsels also stated that the foreign nationals had made “important disclosures” related to “the conspiracy”, including them being in “direct touch” with terrorists “carrying AK-47 rifles”.
The agency also sent mobile phones and other devices for data analysis, which revealed that VanDyke had used India as a transit route even last year.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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Indian Jail should be clean and free from pests and insects. The food should be mildly spicy and healthy to keep inmates cool. Bad fand spicy food increase violence. Also the prisoners should get less food than they need to keep them weak. and calm.