Odisha: As the police continue to investigate the mysterious deaths of two Russians, another one has gone missing in Odisha. Interstingly, this one is a self-proclaimed anti-Ukraine war activist.
The Russian MP was a critic of President Vladimir Putin while the missing man, who used to stay in Puri, was also on the same page, having been sighted earlier on in Odisha’s capital holding placards with anti-war and anti-Putin slogans, seeking financial assistance.
About a month ago, the man was seen in the Bhubaneswar railway station holding a placard that read: “ I am Russian Refugee, I am against War, I am against Putin, I am Homeless, Please Help me”.
The photo of the man holding that placard, clicked by some passenger, has gone viral after the death of his compatriots - lawmaker and businessman Pavel Antov and his fellow traveller Vladimir Bidenov – in a hotel in Rayagada district.
“On being informed by some commuters, I went to him and inquired about him. He was loitering on the railway platform, carrying a placard. I had inspected his passport and visa and found the documents to be OK,” said the GRP inspector in charge Jayadev Biswajit.
As he was not conversant in English, not much details could be collected from him, he said. “The GRP has contacted us. We have provided immediate assistance,” Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh said.
“The police had no cause to suspect any wrong-doing linked to his disappearance at that time, as the Rayagada incident happened thereafter,” a senior railway police official told PTI.
Police takes the man in custody
Later, the man identified as Andrew Glagolev was found. The self-proclaimed anti-Ukraine war activist was located in a market area near Bhubaneswar railway station and he is now in the custody of the Government Railway Police (GRP), an official said.
His visa has expired and he had applied to the UN for asylum in India, Bhubaneswar GRP in-charge Jaydev Biswajit said. The Russian MP was a critic of President Vladimir Putin while Glagolev, who used to stay in Puri, was also on the same page, having been sighted earlier on in Odisha’s capital holding placards with anti-war and anti-Putin slogans, seeking financial assistance.
How did the Russians die?
Antov died after allegedly falling from the hotel’s third floor on December 24 while Bidenov was found dead in his room on December 22. GRP officials in Bhubaneswar railway station talked to the man holding that poster around a month ago.
(With inputs from agencies)
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