Police probing death of Russians in Odisha, won't jump the gun: MEA spokesperson

The Odisha police are investigating the death of two Russian citizens in the state, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday (December 29), adding he would not like to “jump the gun” and comment further until the investigation is complete.

Two Russian citizens, including a lawmaker, were found dead in a hotel in Odisha’s Rayagada district. Pavel Antov (65), a Russian MP and businessman, died after falling from the hotel’s third floor on December 24. Vladimir Bidenov, his co-traveller, was also found dead in his room on December 22.

Asked about it, Bagchi said, “We are aware of this incident. I understand that the Odisha police are looking into the matter as per our laws. I would stop at this point simply because they are looking into it, they are investigating.”

Also read: Two Russian tourists from same group die 2 days apart at Odisha hotel

“It is an unfortunate incident of death…. We need to figure out what are the details. It is a police matter so I don’t want to jump the gun,” he said. The duo were part of a four-member group, which along with their Delhi-based travel guide, Jitendra Singh, had checked in to the hotel on December 21.

The post-mortem report of the Russian MP indicates that he died of internal injury after a fall, while Bidenov may have had heart attack, which led to his death, police said. According to reports in a section of the media, Antov (65), the founder of the Vladimir Meat Processing Plant, ranked among the rich list of lawmakers in Russia. He was found lying in a pool of blood outside the hotel in Rayagada on Saturday.