The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to investigate the case of a US national allegedly entering the prohibited tribal reserve area of the North Sentinel Island, inspected the island from a distance in a boat on Thursday for any article left behind by the foreigner, a senior police officer said.
US national Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov (24), arrested by the CID on March 31, had allegedly entered the North Sentinel Island without any authorisation.
Andaman and Nicobar Police DGP HS Dhaliwal told PTI, “The SIT along with officers from Tribal Welfare department inspected the North Sentinel Islands through binoculars in a boat while maintaining a distance to locate any article that may have been left behind by Polyakov and could endanger the life and safety of the indigenous Sentinelese tribe.” “Despite rough sea and heavy water current, the entire operation was conducted meticulously and as per the protocol, in order to maintain the safety and privacy of the Sentinelese,” the DGP said.
The SIT was accompanied by Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS) officer (the complainant of the case) and the accused US national, who is presently in police custody.
“The American national had allegedly left some bottles of soft drinks on the island for the Sentinelese tribe. It is feared that he might have left some other unknown items also, that are urgently required to be retrieved for the safety and health of the Sentinelese tribe as they are highly vulnerable to modern diseases, having no immunity to infections common among outsiders,” the police officer said.
“The foreign national, who accompanied us, showed the North-East side of the beach at North Sentinel Island where he claimed to have done some photo and video shoots. We could not find any soft drink bottles. The accused had brought some sand in a bottle from the island, the sample of which has been taken for forensic examination,” he said.
Polyakov was arrested by the Crime Investigation Department of the Andaman and Nicobar Police for allegedly entering the highly prohibited North Sentinel Islands on March 31.
The arrested American national will be produced before local court on Friday, a police officer said.
Among the items seized from him were an inflatable boat and an outboard motor or OBM, which he had assembled at a local workshop.
Police said he had planned his journey meticulously and conducted research on sea conditions, tides, and accessibility from the Kurma Dera beach in South Andaman.
Polyakov, whose father is of Ukrainian origin, was found in possession of a GoPro camera, and its footage showed him landing on North Sentinel Island, police said.
Police said this was not his first visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
He visited Port Blair in October last year and attempted a reconnaissance for North Sentinel Island using an inflatable kayak, but was stopped by hotel staff.
In January this year, he had attempted to procure a motor for his boat. During that visit, he went to Baratang Islands, and allegedly illegally videographed the Jarawa tribe, police said.
An FIR was registered against him under the Foreigners Act, 1946, along with sections of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands Amendment Regulation, 2012, on the basis of a complaint lodged at the Ograbraj police station by a Tribal Welfare Officer of Tirur.
The Sentinelese, who inhabit the North Sentinel Island, are designated as a particularly vulnerable tribal group. They belong to the broader class of Andamanese people.
They are hostile to outsiders and have killed people who approached or landed on the island.
American missionary John Chau was killed in November 2018 when he attempted to contact the Sentinelese, considered the world’s last pre-Neolithic tribe. #
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