Andaman Islands: US citizen detained for trespassing
An American national has been detained for travelling to India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands and entering into a prohibited tribal reserve area. 24-year-old Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov arrived in the capital Port Blair on 27th March, being arrested three days later on the Sunday. He was reported to have taken a boat to a restricted area in the island.
Andaman and Nicobar are a group of 572 islands, around 700 miles away from mainland India. The government of India strictly monitors access to the remote islands, home to five known indigenous tribes, some of which have been known to be hostile to outsiders. They include the Sentinelese, Jarwa, Onge, Shompens, and Great Andamanese, and are among the last remaining isolated communities on the planet.
The director general of police said that they had been alerted after locals spotted the man near Khuramadera Beach in South Andaman, near to the Jarwa Reserve Forest, a protected area for one of the indigenous tribes. He was seen on an inflatable single-seater boat at around 4am.
A formal complaint has been registered against the American under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and for travelling to a tribal reserve or restricted area without permission. These areas are protected against unauthorised entry.
In 2018, an American missionary was killed by the Sentinelese after illegally trying to gain entry to preach Christianity. He was killed after being shot with arrows by the tribespeople. In 2006, two fisherman had accidentally drifted to the island and were killed by the same tribe. A military helicopter which flew over the island was also shot with arrows.
Since then, a three-mile buffer zone is enforced around the island to prevent outsiders from coming close to it.
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