Russian meat tycoon and politician Pavel Antov was found dead at a hotel in Odisha on December 25, days after a friend he was travelling with had died, BBC reported on Tuesday.
Antov, who had turned 65 on December 22, reportedly fell from a window in the hotel and was found in a pool of blood. However, the police have said that they are yet to ascertain the circumstances of Antov’s demise, reported Russia Times. “The police do not see any criminal aspects in these tragic events,” Russian Consul-General in India, Aleksey Idamkin told the news website.
The Odisha Police on Wednesday said that Antov’s post-mortem examination showed that he died of internal injuries due to a fall from the third floor of the hotel, PTI reported. His friend Vladimir Bidenov died of a heart attack, the police quoted the post-mortem report as saying.
Chief District Medical Officer Lalmohan Routrai said that the viscera of Antov have not been preserved, while those of Bidenov have been preserved.
Viscera samples are generally preserved in cases where autopsies do not show a definite cause of death. In such cases, a viscera examination can test internal organs for poisoning or any other abnormalities.
Meanwhile, two other co-travellers, Pansasenko Natalia and Turov Mikhail, appeared before the Crime Branch in Cuttack for questioning on Wednesday. The police have told them not to leave the state.
In June, Antov had expressed his disapproval of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after a missile attack on a residential block in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv, reported BBC. “It’s extremely difficult to call all this anything but terror,” Antov had said in a WhatsApp message, which was later deleted.
Antov is the founder of the Vladimir Standard meat processing plant and the chairperson of the Committee on Agrarian Policy, Nature Management and Ecology of the Legislative Assembly of the Vladimir Region in Russia.
The 65-year-old was travelling with three other Russians, including his friend Vladimir Budanov, who died after suffering a stroke at Hotel Sai International in Odisha’s Rayagada district on December 22, reported The Indian Express.
The police have said that Antov was very upset following Budanov’s death,
“Since foreign nationals are involved in this incident, the Crime Branch has been directed to take over the inquiry into the two unnatural death cases,” said Director General of Police Sunil Kumar Bansal said, reported the newspaper.
Antov’s death comes amid demise of several other Russian tycoons since the war on Ukraine began on February 24.
On September 1, Chairperson of Russian oil giant Lukoil, Ravil Maganov had died after falling from a window of Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital, reported CNBC. The oil company and Maganov had expressed their disapproval of war against Ukraine in March, said the report.
Before Maganov, seven other oil Russian energy executive were also found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!