US national held for entering protected North Sentinel Island remanded to 14-day judicial custody
US national held for entering protected North Sentinel Island remanded to 14-day judicial custody
Port Blair, A 24-year-old US national, who was arrested for illegally entering the protected North Sentinel Island, was sent to 14-day judicial custody on Friday, officials said.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, arrested by the Crime Investigation Department of Andaman and Nicobar Police on March 31, had entered the protected tribal reserve without any authorisation, a police officer said.
Polyakov was on Friday produced before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate , Port Blair after completion of his three-day police custody.
"His lawyer moved a 'vakalatnama' and no bail petition was forwarded.
"After hearing the matter, the CJM remanded the accused to 14-day judicial custody. The next date of hearing is on April 17," the police officer added.
Polyakov had arrived in Port Blair, the capital of the archipelago, on March 26.
He left for North Sentinel Island, where entry of any person without authorisation is prohibited, from Kurma Dera beach near Port Blair in a boat around 1 am on March 29, carrying a coconut and a can of cola as "offerings for the Sentinelese", the officer said.
The US national reached the northeastern shore of North Sentinel Island by 10 am and surveyed the area using binoculars but did not see any inhabitant. He remained offshore for around an hour and blew a whistle to attract attention but received no response, he said.
Polyakov then briefly landed on the island for five minutes, left some offerings on the beach, collected sand samples and recorded a video before returning to his boat, the officer said.
Around 1 pm, he started his return journey and reached Kurma Dera beach by 7 pm where he was spotted by local fishermen, he said.
An FIR was registered against Polyakov under Sections 14/14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, along with Sections 7/8 of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands Amendment Regulation, 2012.
The Home Department has been intimated about the arrest for further communication to the Ministry of External Affairs and the US Embassy, he added.
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.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
