US ‘thrill-seeker’ arrested for entering North Sentinel Island in Andaman
The man had collected sand samples, and recorded a video with a GoPro camera before he was arrested and his boat along with his equipment was confiscated.
A 24-year-old US national, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days after he illegally entered the protected North Sentinel Island in Andaman.
Polyakov, who was described as a “thrill seeker” by Andaman's director general of police, Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal, had reportedly made several attempts to contact the isolated Sentinelese tribe on the island.
Also Read: Home to world's most isolated indigenous tribe: 5 facts on North Sentinel Islands
DGP Dhaliwal also told ANI that apart from gathering information about the island and the tribe, Polyakov had also “acquired an inflatable boat and outboard motor to facilitate his illegal entry.”
The Sentinelese are an uncontacted tribe protected by Indian law against outsiders. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation, 2012, prohibits travel within 5 kilometres of the island to safeguard them from diseases contracted from exposure to outsiders and also seeks to preserve their isolation.
Also Read: US man enters Andamans island with coconut and can of cola, arrested. Here's why
Encroaching upon the Sentinelese is also considered dangerous as in 2018, a US missionary John Allen Chau was killed by the tribe after an unauthorized visit.
How did Polyakov enter the North Sentinel Island?
Polyakov embarked on his inflatable boat towards North Sentinel Island on March 29. After arriving in its vicinity, he spent an hour off the shore, blowing a whistle to attract the Sentinelese tribe's attention.
He then disembarked and spent approximately five minutes on shore, leaving a coconut and a can of cola as an offering to entice the tribe to appear.
Polyakov also collected sand samples, and recorded a video with a GoPro camera before returning to his boat. He then returned to Kurma Dera Beach by 7 pm, when local fishermen noticed him.
He was arrested two days later, on March 31, by the Crime Investigation Department (CID), and an FIR was filed under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation, 2012, reported ANI.
His inflatable boat, an outboard motor, GPS equipment and GoPro camera were all confiscated after his arrest.
DGP Dhaliwal stated, as quoted by ANI, “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."
