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DOSSIER – In this photo of 14 November 2005, clouds cover the North Sentinel Island, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, southeast of India. An American man was reportedly killed by an isolated Indian island tribe who allegedly shot aliens with bows and arrows, Indian police said on Wednesday, November 21, 2018. Police officer Vijay Singh said seven fishermen had been arrested for facilitating the visit of the American North Sentinel Island, where the murder apparently took place. Visits to the island are severely limited by the government. (AP Photo / Gautam Singh, File) The Associated Press
By ASHOK SHARMA, Associated press
NEW DELHI (AP) – An American adventurer was killed by an isolated Indian tribe, known for shooting aliens with bows and arrows, police said on Wednesday.
Dependera Pathak, chief policy officer of the Indian islands of Andaman and Nicobar, said seven fishermen had been arrested for helping the American man to travel to North Sentinel Island, where the killing took place . Visits to the island are severely limited by the government.
We know that the inhabitants of the Sentinels on the small wooded island resist contact with strangers, often attacking people who approach it.
Pathak identified the American as John Allen Chau and said he was described in a 26 year old hotel and originally from Alabama. He was apparently shot by arrows, but the cause of death can only be confirmed if his body is found, Pathak told The Associated Press.
Police have contacted anthropologists with contacts on the island for the purpose of visiting and recovering the body, said Pathak.
He added that Chau had arrived in the area on October 16 and had been staying at a hotel while he was preparing to visit the Forbidden Island. He had already visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2015 and 2016, said Pathak. North Sentinel is located in the Andaman Islands, at the intersection of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
He added that Chau had arranged his visit to the island through a friend who had hired seven fishermen for $ 325, to drive him on a boat that was also towing his kayak.
On November 15, Chau disembarked in his kayak and sent the boat with the fishermen at sea to avoid detection, Pathak said. He traded with some members of the tribe by offering them gifts that he had prepared, such as a football and fish. But members of the tribe got angry and shot him an arrow that apparently hit a book he was carrying, Pathak said.
The American's kayak was damaged and he swam to the fishermen's boat, which was waiting at a place agreed in advance. He spent the night there and recorded his experiences on paper pages that he gave to fishermen, said Pathak. He returned to the meeting of the tribes on November 16th.
But the next morning, waiting fishermen saw from afar his body being dragged by members of one tribe. They left for Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where they informed Chau's friend, who informed his family, said Pathak.
He added that his family had made contact with the Indian police and the American consular authorities.
"It was a misguided adventure case," he said.
Police arrested the seven fishermen and accused them of endangering the American's life by taking him to a forbidden zone, Pathak said.
Kathleen Hosie, spokeswoman for the United States Consulate in Chennai, capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southern India, said she was aware of the situation. information about an American on the islands.
"When a US citizen goes missing, we work closely with local authorities as part of their research efforts," Hosie said. She said that she could not say more for reasons of confidentiality.
Survival International, an organization that works for the rights of tribal peoples, said the killing of the American should prompt the Indian authorities to adequately protect the lands of the Sentinels and other Andaman tribes.
"The British colonial occupation of the Andaman Islands decimated the tribes who lived there, wiping out thousands of tribesmen.A mere fraction of the original population survived.Fear of strangers is therefore perfectly understandable "said Stephen Corry, group director, said in a statement.
Shiv Viswanathan, a sociologist and professor at Jindal Global Law School, said North Sentinel Island was a protected area and not open to tourists. "The exact population of the tribe is not known, but it is decreasing and the government needs to protect them," Viswanathan said.
Poachers are known to fish illegally in the waters around the island, catching turtles and diving for lobster and sea cucumber fishing. Tribespeople killed two Indian fishermen in 2006 when their boat came to sea. detached and drifted on the shore.
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