Novo Delhi (AP), the Indian Police, has arrested a 24-year-old US YouTuber, who visited an island beyond the Indian Ocean borders and left offering a dietary bun and coconut in an attempt to make contact with an isolated tribe known for the attack of intruders.
Mihail Victor Polyakov from Scottsdale, Arizona, was arrested on March 31, two days after he stepped on the limited territory of the island of North Sentinel – part of the Andamans and Nicobar Islands in India – in an attempt to meet people in the requested tribe of Sentinel.
Last week, a local court sent Polyakov in a 14-day court arrest and he will re-appear in court on April 17. The charges carry a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine. Indian authorities said they had informed the US Embassy on the case.
Visitors are forbidden to travel within 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the island, whose population has been isolated from the rest of the world for thousands of years. Residents use spears and bows and arrows to hunt the animals that go around the small, highly wooded island. Deeply suspicious to outsiders, they attack anyone who lands on their beaches.
In 2018, an American missionary, who landed illegally on the beach, was killed by the Northern Islands of Sentinel, who apparently shot him with arrows and then buried his body on the beach. In 2006, Sentineles killed two fishermen who accidentally landed ashore.
Indian officials have limited contacts with rare gifts, with small teams of employees and scientists leaving coconuts and bananas for the islanders. Indian ships also watch the waters around the island, trying to ensure that outsiders do not approach the guard, which repeatedly clarifies that they want to be left alone.
Police said Polyakov was led by GPS navigation during his trip and examined the island with binoculars before landing. He stayed on the beach for about an hour, blowing a whistle to get attention, but did not receive an answer from the islanders.
Later, he left a can of diet coke and coconut as a proposal, made a video on his camera and collected several sand samples before returning to his boat.
On his return, he was spotted by local fishermen who informed the authorities, and Polyakov was arrested in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Archipelago nearly 750 miles (1.207 kilometers) east of the continent of India. A case was reported to violate Indian laws, which prohibit every outside person from interacting with the islanders.
Police said Polyakov had conducted detailed research on maritime conditions, tides and accessibility to the island before his trip began.
“He plans carefully for several days to visit the island and make contact with the Sentinel tribe,” said senior police officer Hargabander Singh Dhalival.
In a statement, police said “Polyakov’s actions were a serious threat to the safety and well -being of the guard, whose contact with outsiders was strictly prohibited by the Law on Protection of their Local Lifestyle.”
An initial investigation revealed that Polyakov made two previous attempts in October last year and January to visit the islands, including in an inflatable kayak.
Police said Polyakov was attracted to the island because of his passion for adventures and extreme challenges and was fascinated by the mysticism of the guard.
Survival International, a group that protects the rights of the indigenous population, said Polyakov’s experience to contact the tribes of North Sentinel is “reckless and idiotic”.
“Not only do this man’s actions threaten his own life, they put the life of the entire guard at risk,” said the group of the Caroline Pierce group director.