US Youtuber Arrested For Illegally Approaching India’s Isolated Sentinelese Tribe

Photo:Youtube

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI- A 24-year-old American YouTuber has been arrested in India after illegally attempting to make contact with the Sentinelese, one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous communities, located on North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to ABC News.

Authorities identified the man as Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov from Scottsdale, Arizona. He was taken into custody on March 31, just days after briefly stepping onto the restricted island, which remains off-limits under Indian law to protect its uncontacted inhabitants. Officials allege that Polyakov used GPS to navigate to the area, surveyed the island with binoculars, blew a whistle to draw attention, and left behind a coconut and a can of Diet Coke. He also reportedly filmed his visit and collected sand before retreating to his boat.

Local fishermen alerted authorities, and Polyakov was arrested in Port Blair. He has since been placed in 14-day judicial custody, with a court hearing set for April 17. If found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison along with a monetary penalty ABC News noted.

Police stated that Polyakov had made at least two prior attempts to reach the island using an inflatable kayak and had conducted extensive research into the area’s sea routes and access points.

North Sentinel Island is inhabited by a small, reclusive tribe that has avoided outside contact for thousands of years. The Indian government enforces a strict exclusion zone of three nautical miles around the island to preserve the tribe’s health and autonomy. The risks of contact are high—not only to outsiders but also to the tribe, which lacks immunity to common diseases. In 2018, an American missionary was killed after making an unauthorized attempt to land there.

The case has reignited concerns about the impact of online fame and social media-driven adventurism on protected Indigenous communities.