india

Updated: Apr 18, 2019 01:17 IST

The Andaman and Nicobar police have moved a local court seeking letters of request to a US court seeking their assistance in getting two American citizens to join the investigation into John Allen Chau’s murder in November last year.

A reclusive and endangered Sentinelese tribe killed Chau, an American citizen, when he ventured onto the forbidden North Sentinel Island. “We have approached our local court. Prima facie, the two persons appear to have facilitated Chau’s visit to the island. We want to question them,” said Andaman and Nicobar police chief Dependra Pathak.

The North Sentinel Island is home to the about 40-200 Sentinelese . Chau had bribed local fishermen to take him near the island from where he swam across to the prohibited island. Police retrieved Chau’s handwritten notes saying he was going to the island to introduce Christianity.

Police have registered two first information reports in the case. The first case is related to Chau’s murder while another is against him and others for violating Indian laws by entering the prohibited island. An officer said that investigations have revealed a 54-year-old woman from Tennessee and a 25-year-old man from Colorado had come to Andaman and held meetings with Chau between November 5 and 10 in Port Blair.

“The two were from ALL NATIONS, a group set up to build churches in the remote corners of the world. We have handwritten notes of Chau, where he has made the mention of the two US nationals. One of the arrested persons, Alexander has also confirmed the two American citizens were part of the meetings held at Alexander’s house to discuss Chau’s visit.” HT emailed ALL NATIONS seeking a comment. But until late Wednesday night, there was no response.

Another officer privy to the investigation, who did not wish to be named, said their investigation revealed the two left Andaman on November 10 a day before Chau’s first trip to the island. “Chau’s plan was to go on November 11 but it was postponed because of a cyclone. We suspect that there were many others from ALL NATIONS who knew and helped Chau violate laws and enter the forbidden island.”