1 year on, time adds intrigue to Andaman mystery
NEWDELHI:ONE year ago, American citizen John Allen Chau was last seen approaching the prohibited North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal. The 27-year-old was feared killed by the islanders and buried at the shore on November 17, 2018.
Police have been unable to recover his body because Indian laws prohibit anyone from entering within 500m of water near the forbidden island, and even while the case is being probed as one of murder, some in the force believe that the US citizen may be alive — living with the islanders. North Sentinel Island — about a five-hour boat ride in the choppy waters of the Bay of Bengal from Port Blair — is a restricted area for everyone because it is home to the Sentinelese, one of the last uncontacted tribes of the world. Little is known about their language, food habits, population, or how they have survived all these years while shunning the outside world.
Chau, who worked for All Nations, an evangelical group based in Kansas City that introduces Christianity in the remote corners of the world, was so obsessed with the island that he broke a series of laws and did not hesitate in putting his own life in danger.
“Nobody knows exactly what happened to Chau. Our guess is as best as anyone’s,” an officer posted in Andaman police until a few months ago told HT on condition of anonymity.
“He was trained to live on the island for months according to reports from the US media. That he entered the forbidden island is based on eyewitness accounts and Chau’s handwritten notes. But nobody actually saw the islanders burying him.”