NEW DELHI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Indian security agencies arrested a U.S. national on the charge of entering a restricted area, an island in southern India inhabited by the indigenous "Sentinelese" tribe, a local policeman confirmed.
The arrested U.S. national was identified as 24-year-old Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov. He reportedly arranged an inflatable boat to reach the restricted area.
The tribe has so far fiercely resisted all attempts made by the outside world to establish contact with it.
This was not the first occasion that an American national attempted to visit the restricted area located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In 2018, American national John Allen Chau reached the area and was killed by secluded tribesmen. His body couldn't be recovered.
Top police officer of Andaman and Nicobar Islands H.S. Dhaliwal said, "We have arrested a 24-year-old U.S. national, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, for illegally entering the restricted North Sentinel Island, home to the Sentinelese tribe."
"We are taking this incident seriously and are working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs and the U.S. Embassy to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future," added Dhaliwal. ■
