Odisha DGP orders probe into the 'mysterious' death of Russian lawmaker, says 'no foul in case yet'

Image Source : FILE/REPRESENTATIVE Odisha DGP orders probe into 'mysterious' death of Russian lawmaker, says 'no foul in case yet'

Odisha DGP ordered a probe into the mysterious death of two Russian tourists, one of whom was a lawmaker named Pavel Antov in Rayagada district on Tuesday. DGP Sunil Kumar Bansal ordered CID-Crime Branch to take over the investigation.

According to police, Antov's friend Vladimir Bidenov was found lying unconscious in his hotel room on December 22. The doctors pronounced him dead when he was taken to the Rayagada district hospital. Bidenov's body was cremated in Rayagada after acquiring approval of the Russian authority in India.

Antov, stated to be a member of the legislative assembly of Vladimir Putin's regime, was found in a pool of blood outside the same hotel on December 24, the police said. The police are yet to ascertain whether Antov accidentally fell off the terrace of the hotel, or committed suicide. The cops are also looking into other angles of the two cases.

These two deaths within a short span of time in one location have put the Odisha police on a tizzy. As the tourist season is going on in India, four people from Russia had come to Rayagada, of which one person (Vladimir Bidenov) died due to a heart-related problem, as per the preliminary investigation, said DGP Bansal.

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"Till now, we have not found any foul play in the case," he said. Two days after Bidenov's death, his friend (Antov) died in a suspected suicidal case, Bansal said. "We have registered an unnatural death case and are conducting an investigation. The post-mortem has been done. The Russian authority in Kolkata is in touch with us. We are extending all support they want in this case," the DGP informed.

Meanwhile, Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao, DIG, Koraput, along with Rayagada SP Vivekanand Sharma visited the hotel as part of the probe. "Our scientific investigation is going on. We are waiting for the post-mortem reports. As per doctors' opinion in the report, we will conduct further investigation," said Pandit. As per reports, four Russian citizens along with their guide Jitendra Singh had first travelled to Daringbadi and then to Kandhamal district. Later, they travelled to Rayagada and stayed at Sai International Hotel in the town.

Hotel owner Koushik Thakur said the four Russian nationals checked into the hotel on December 21. Two of them died while a Russian couple checked out on Tuesday. Antov was upset following the death of Bidenov, he said. Antov belonged to the ruling party of Valdimir Putin and had recently sent out a message criticising Russian attacks in Ukraine, but had later retracted the statement, according to several media reports.

(With inputs from agencies)