An American tourist was killed by unidentified persons in North Sentinel Island in Andaman, leading to the arrests of seven people so far, Reuters reported. A case of murder has also been filed.
The victim has been identified as 27 year old John Allen Chau. He was killed on Saturday last week, a police officer was quoted as saying by Reuters. Visits to the island are heavily restricted by the government, he added.
Andaman Sheekha, a local newspaper in Andaman island, claimed the Sentinelese tribe to be behind the incident. Sentinelese tribe is an endangered community with a population of around 40 (Census of India, 2011) and are known to resist contact with the outside world.
Taking cognisance of the matter, a spokeswoman for the US consulate in Chennai told Reuters, “We are aware of reports concerning a US citizen in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. When a US citizen is missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their search efforts.” However, she declined to provide further details over privacy concerns.
A police source told Reuters that Chau, who had made previous visits to the islands, had a strong desire to meet the Sentinelese. He had hired a dinghy and along with a few fishermen, he reached the vicinity of the island on November 16 before transferring to a canoe.
His body was recovered the following day by the fishermen on their return. The body has not been retrieved yet. The fishermen who took him there have been arrested.
(With inputs from agency)
