Sri Vijaya Puram | March 5, 2026
Police in South Andaman district have registered a case against two fishermen for allegedly entering the prohibited tribal reserve waters near North Sentinel Island, one of the most protected and isolated islands in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.
According to a First Information Report (FIR) registered at Humfrygunj Police Station, the incident occurred on the morning of March 1, 2026, when a fishing boat was found anchored close to the shores of North Sentinel Island, which is home to the highly isolated Sentinelese tribe.
The complaint was lodged by a Head Constable of IRBn who was deployed as PSO to the DIGP (Law & Order). In his statement, he said that while on circumnavigation duty around North Sentinel Island with DIGP (Law & Order) and other senior officers in a private fishing boat, the team noticed a small dinghy anchored about 100–200 metres from the island’s shore, with two individuals fishing in the area.
The two individuals were later identified as Mahesh Mundari and Ravi Ram Naskar, both residents of Wandoor in South Andaman. The fishermen had entered the area despite the fact that the island and the waters around it fall within a notified Tribal Reserve, where entry and fishing activities are strictly prohibited.
The act amounts to a violation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956.
North Sentinel Island lies around 36 km west of Wandoor (South Andaman Island) and is inhabited by the Sentinelese, one of the world’s last isolated indigenous tribes. The community has consistently resisted outside contact and is known for protecting its territory from outsiders.
To safeguard the tribe and prevent the spread of external diseases to which they have no immunity, the Government of India has declared the island and its surrounding waters a Tribal Reserve under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956.
A strict exclusion zone of five nautical miles has been enforced around the island, prohibiting any approach by outsiders, including fishermen, tourists, or researchers, without special permission from the administration. The measure is intended both to protect the Sentinelese from external interference and to ensure the safety of outsiders, as the tribe is known to react aggressively to intrusions.
The Sentinelese remain among the few indigenous communities in the world living in near-complete isolation, with the Government of India following an “eyes-on, hands-off” policy towards the tribe.
