US national arrested for entering North Sentinel Island: A look back at the 2018 case of John Allen Chau

A 24-year-old US national, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, was arrested by the CID on March 31 for entering the prohibited tribal reserve area of the North Sentinel Island without any authorisation.

Part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, this restricted area is home to indigenous inhabitants, the Sentinelese, who over the years have fiercely resisted all sorts of attempts made to have contact with the outside world. Considered among the last uncontacted peoples on the planet, they have lived in isolation for thousands of years. In this “protected area,” contacts with the tribe remain prohibited in a bid to preserve their autonomy as well as protecting them from external threats.

Polyakov, whose father is of Ukrainian origin, is not the first outsider to visit the area. In 2018, American missionary John Allen Chau, visited the dangerous and isolated island and was killed by the tribe, with his body remaining buried on the island till date, New York Post reported.


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What happened in 2018?

John Allen Chau managed to visit the North Sentinel Island twice.

During his maiden visit on November 15, 2018, he took some gifts for the tribes, including fish and football. He was able to make contact with the tribesmen, but they soon fired an arrow at him after getting provoked. The arrow hit the Bible he was carrying along. He then swam back to the fishing boat that was waiting for him at a safe distance.

According to reports, Chau tried to preach Christianity to the locals.

On November 16, he came back to the island, only to be struck by a tragedy. The next day (November 17, 2018), the local fishermen witnessed his body being dragged by the tribesmen along the beach.

This killing by the secluded indigenous group remained in headlines for several weeks. The fishermen, who assisted Chau during his journey, were later arrested.

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov's case

After his arrival at Port Blair on March 26, Polyakov decided to venture into the North Sentinel Island from the Kurma Dera beach, PTI quoted officials as saying.

On March 29, he launched his boat from the beach at around 1 AM (local time) and carried a coconut and can of cola as "offerings for the Sentinelese". Travelling for several hours, he managed to reach the island's northeastern shore by 10 AM (local time). However, he was unable to find any inhabitants even after surveying the area through binoculars.

After staying offshore for about an hour, Polyakov then started blowing whistles to attract the people, but did not receive any response from them.

Later on, he decided to land on the island for a brief period of five minutes, left the offering there and collected sand samples. Before returning to his boat, the accused even recorded a video of the area. His return journey started at around 1 PM, while he reached the Kurma Dera beach by 7 PM. At this time, he was located by the local fishermen in the area.

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Shockingly, this was not Polyakov's first visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He was in Port Blair in October last year when he tried to visit North Sentinel Island using an inflatable kayak. However, he was stopped by the hotel staff at that time. In January this year, he came to the islands and went to the Baratang Islands.

FAQs

1. What's the case against Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov?
The case has been registered against the US national under the Foreigners Act, 1946 as well as sections of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation, 2012.

2. Who are the Sentinelese?
They are the indigenous inhabitants of the North Sentinel Island and have been designated as a vulnerable tribal group.