Indian police work to get American’s body

Man was killed, apparently by arrows, on an island cut off from the modern world

NEW DELHI — Indian authorities were struggling Thursday to figure out how to recover the body of an American killed after wading ashore on an island cut off from the modern world.

John Allen Chau was killed last week by North Sentinel islanders who apparently shot him with arrows and buried his body on the beach, police say.

But even officials don’t travel to North Sentinel, where outsiders are seen with suspicion and attacked.

“It’s a difficult proposition,” said Dependera Pathak, director-general of police on India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where North Sentinel is located. “We have to … (take) utmost care of the sensitivity of the group and the legal requirements.”

Police are consulting experts and scholars to figure out a way to recover the body, he said.

While visits to the island are heavily restricted, Chau paid fishermen to take him near North Sentinel, using a kayak to paddle to shore and bringing gifts.

It was “a foolish adventure,” said P.C. Joshi, an anthropology professor at Delhi University who has studied the islands.

Joshi noted that the visit not only risked Chau’s life, but also the lives of islanders who have little resistance to many diseases.

“… A simple thing like flu can kill them,” he said. On his first day, Chau interacted with some tribesmen until they became angry and shot an arrow at him. The 26-year-old self-styled adventurer and Christian missionary then swam back to the fishermen’s boat.

That night, he wrote about his visit and left his notes with the fishermen. He returned to North Sentinel the next day, Nov. 16.

On the morning of the following day, the fishermen watched as tribesmen dragged Chau’s body along the beach and buried his remains.

Pathak said seven people have been arrested for helping Chau, including five fishermen, a friend of Chau’s and a local tourist guide.