A U.S. citizen was arrested in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for allegedly trespassing into the restricted tribal reserve of North Sentinel Island, police said on Wednesday. The accused, 24-year-old Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, was taken into custody by the CID on March 31 for entering the island without authorisation.

According to officials, he arrived in Port Blair on March 26 and later attempted to reach North Sentinel Island from Kurma Dera Beach. Around 1 a.m. on March 29, he set off in a boat, carrying a coconut and a can of cola as offerings for the indigenous Sentinelese tribe. By 10 a.m., he reached the island's northeastern shore and surveyed the area using binoculars but saw no signs of the tribe. He remained offshore for an hour, blowing a whistle to attract attention, but received no response.

Polyakov briefly set foot on the island for about five minutes, leaving the offerings on the shore, collecting sand samples, and recording a video before returning to his boat. At 1 p.m., he began his return journey, reaching Kurma Dera Beach by 7 p.m., where local fishermen noticed him, police added.

DGP HS Dhaliwal informed PTI, "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." Authorities seized several items from him, including an inflatable boat and an outboard motor (OBM), which a local workshop assembled for him.

Police revealed that he had carefully planned his journey, thoroughly researching sea conditions, tides, and the accessibility of Kurma Dera beach.

Throughout his voyage, he relied on GPS navigation. Authorities stated that Polyakov, whose father has Ukrainian roots, was found carrying a GoPro camera. The footage retrieved from the device reportedly showed him arriving on North Sentinel Island.

He is currently in police custody under court orders for further questioning.

This was not his first visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Police noted that he had travelled to Port Blair in October last year, where he attempted to survey North Sentinel Island using an inflatable kayak but was blocked by hotel staff. In January this year, he returned to the islands, trying to acquire a motor for his boat. During that trip, he visited the Baratang Islands and allegedly filmed the Jarawa tribe illegally, according to police.

A case was filed against him under the Foreigners Act, 1946, along with provisions of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation, 2012. The FIR was based on a complaint by Tribal Welfare Officer Pronab Sircar at the Ograbraj police station.

Following his arrest, authorities informed the Home Department, which is responsible for further notifying the Ministry of External Affairs and the U.S. Embassy, according to the police.

The Sentinelese, who live on North Sentinel Island, are classified as a particularly vulnerable tribal group and are part of the broader Andamanese community. They are known for their hostility toward outsiders and have attacked and killed those who attempted to approach or land on the island.

In November 2018, American missionary John Chau was killed when he tried to make contact with the Sentinelese, who are considered one of the last pre-Neolithic tribes in the world.