Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar) [India], April 4 (ANI): A 24-year-old US national, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, has been arrested for illegally entering North Sentinel Island in Andaman, home to the isolated Sentinelese tribe.
Confirming the arrest, Director General of Police (DGP) for Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal said that the accused has been remanded to 14-day judicial custody.
According to the DGP, Polyakov, described as a “thrill seeker,” had made several attempts to contact the tribe, despite their known resistance to outsiders.
“We have arrested a 24-year-old US national, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, for illegally entering the restricted North Sentinel Island, home to the Sentinelese tribe,” said DGP Dhaliwal.
The accused had gathered information about the island and its inhabitants and had even “acquired an inflatable boat and outboard motor to facilitate his illegal entry,” the DGP said.
Polyakov embarked on his journey on March 29 and was arrested on March 31, by the Crime Investigation Department (CID), police said.
Authorities confiscated his inflatable boat, an outboard motor (assembled at a local workshop), GPS equipment, and a GoPro camera containing footage of his visit.
“We are taking this incident seriously and are working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs and the US Embassy to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future,” said Dhaliwal.
According to the police, Polyakov spent about an hour offshore, blowing a whistle to attract the Sentinelese tribe’s attention. He then stayed briefly for approximately five minutes, leaving offerings of a coconut and a can of cola to seek attention of Sentinelese tribe. He also collected sand samples, and recorded a video with a GoPro camera before returning to his boat.
Local fishermen spotted him upon his return to Kurma Dera Beach by 7 pm on March 29. He was arrested two days later, and an FIR was filed under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation, 2012, police said.
North Sentinel Island is home to the Sentinelese, an uncontacted tribe protected by Indian law, which prohibits travel within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the island to safeguard them from outside diseases and preserve their isolation. This incident follows a 2018 case where US missionary John Allen Chau was killed by the Sentinelese after a similar unauthorized visit. (ANI)
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