US man arrested for entering restricted area in Andamans

A US national was arrested in Andaman and Nicobar Islands for allegedly entering the prohibited tribal reserve area of the North Sentinel Island, the police said on Wednesday.

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov (24), arrested by the CID on March 31, had allegedly entered the North Sentinel Island without any authorisation, they said.

He arrived in Port Blair on March 26 and ventured to North Sentinel Island from the Kurma Dera beach, they said.

He launched his boat from Kurma Dera beach around 1 am on March 29, carrying a coconut and a can of cola as “offerings for the Sentinelese”, the police said.

Polyakov reached the North-Eastern shore of North Sentinel Island by 10 am. Using binoculars, he surveyed the area, but saw no inhabitants, they said.

He remained offshore for an hour, blowing a whistle to attract attention, but received no response.

He landed briefly for about five minutes, left the offerings on the shore, collected sand samples and recorded a video before returning to his boat, the police said.

At 1 pm, he started his return journey and reached Kurma Dera Beach by 7 pm, where he was spotted by local fishermen, they said.

DGP HS Dhaliwal said, “We are getting more details about him and his intention to visit the reserved tribal area. We are also trying to find where else he had visited during his stay in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We are questioning the hotel staff where he was staying in Port Blair.”

Among the items seized from him were an inflatable boat and an outboard motor or OBM, which he had assembled at a local workshop.

The police said he had planned his journey meticulously —conducted research on sea conditions, tides and accessibility from the Kurma Dera beach.