US national John Chau, who was killed, wanted to preach Christianity to Sentinelese tribe: Report

The killing of a US national, John Allen Chau, allegedly by members of Sentinelese tribe in Andaman’s North Sentinel Island has triggered an uproar. While the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes has sought a report from the Union Home Ministry and the Andaman and Nicobar administration, reports in international media suggest that Chau had ventured into the isolated island illegally in a bid to convert the members of the reclusive tribe to Christianity.

According to a report in Daily Mail, Chau was committed to travel to the remote island and had been working on the trip for over three years. The report a friend of the deceased US national as saying that Chau believed that he had a message from a “higher authority”, in a reference to God, to visit the island and convert the members of the Sentinelese tribe to Christianity.

Chau believed that he would have helped the people living on the isolated island by preaching Christianity to them. News agency Reuters also quoted sources as saying that Chau had visited the nearby Andaman and Nicobar islands in the past.

At least seven people have been arrested in connection with the incident and the case filed named unidentified members of Sentinelese tribe.

The North Sentinel Island, off-bounds to visitors, is home to the Sentinelese who killed the American after he was illegally ferried there by fishermen.

The Sentinelese refuse to connect with the rest of the world and are also among those tribes, worldwide, who are averse to modern-day civilization.

Earlier this month, in an interview to travel forum, The Outbound, Chau had said, "Going back to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India is on the top - there's so much to see and do there!" Outbound had asked him what was on the top of his must-do adventure list.

One of the police sources said Chau, who had made previous visits to the islands, had a strong desire to meet the Sentinelese. 

Chau hired a fishing dinghy and, aided by the fishermen, reached the vicinity of the island on Nov. 16, before transferring to a canoe, the official said. His body, spotted the following day by the fishermen on their return, has not yet been retrieved, the official added, although the fishermen who took him there have been arrested.

(With Reuters Inputs)