Social media in the US and the UK have erupted with mixed reactions ever since an American YouTuber named Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov was arrested in India. CID arrested the 24-year-old YouTuber Mykhailo on March 31 after he allegedly entered the North Sentinel Island of Andaman & Nicobar without any authorisation. Not only this, but Mykhailo tried to contact the 'untouched' tribe that could have been turned deadly for them.
Andaman and Nicobar Police DGP HS Dhaliwal was quoted by a news wire who informed, "The SIT along with officers from Tribal Welfare department inspected the North Sentinel Islands through binoculars in a boat while maintaining a distance to locate any article that may have been left behind by Polyakov and could endanger the life and safety of the indigenous Sentinelese tribe."
The officer had further revealed, "The American national had allegedly left some bottles of soft drinks on the island for the Sentinelese tribe. It is feared that he might have left some other unknown items also, that are urgently required to be retrieved for the safety and health of the Sentinelese tribe as they are highly vulnerable to modern diseases, having no immunity to infections common among outsiders."
The arrested American national will be produced before local court on Friday, a police officer said. Among the items seized from him were an inflatable boat and an outboard motor or OBM, which he had assembled at a local workshop.
Who is Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov?
As per reports, 24-year-old Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov has US nationality who arrived in Port Blair on March 26. His father is of Ukrainian origin and he had visited Port Blair in October last year as well. At the time, he attempted reconnaissance for North Sentinel Island using an inflatable kayak but was stopped by hotel staff. He also came to the islands in January this year to procure a motor for his boat for which he went to Baratang Islands and illegally filmed the Jarawa tribe.
He has also been to Afghanistan where he met Taliban members and also posed holding their weapons.
How did Mykhailo enter the restricted Island?
As per reports, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov set out from Kurma Dera Beach at around 1 am on March 29 to enter the North Sentinel Island. He brought a coconut and a can of cola as offerings as he wanted to make contact with the isolated tribe on the island. As he reached the northeastern shore of the island, he used binoculars to survey the area but saw no signs of the tribe and then was offshore for around an hour.