New Delhi: Indian police are investigating the sudden death at a luxury hotel of a wealthy Russian politician and his traveling companion who reportedly criticized the Ukraine war, officials said Tuesday.
The body of 65-year-old Pavel Antov was found Saturday in a puddle of blood outside his accommodation in eastern Orissa, where he was vacationing with three other Russian citizens.
His death came two days after another member of the traveling party, Vladimir Bidenov, was found unconscious after suffering an apparent heart attack at the same hotel.
Police said they had reviewed CCTV footage, had questioned hotel staff, and were awaiting a detailed autopsy report, but had found no signs of foul play so far.
“All possible angles are being investigated into the deaths of two Russian citizens,” local police chief Rajesh Pandit told AFP.
Bidenov’s heart attack was likely caused by binge drinking and drug overdose, he said.
“So far, it looks like Antoff accidentally fell off the hotel terrace,” he added.
“He was probably shaken by his friend’s death and went to the hotel terrace, where he fell to his death.”
Officers said Antoff and his friend arrived in the state in mid-December and visited several locations before arriving at a hotel in Rayagada early last week.
Two local travel agents who accompanied the party were also questioned, along with two other Russian members of the vacation group.
Since 2018, Antov has been a member of the local parliament 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of Moscow and represents President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party.
Before entering politics, he founded the food processing company Vladimirsky Standart and in 2019 was ranked by the Russian edition of Forbes magazine as the wealthiest of all parliamentarians and officials in the country.
In June, Russian media published a WhatsApp message attributed to Antov that said the Kremlin missile attack on Ukraine was “terrorism.”
Taking to Russian social media network VK, Antov denied posting the message and claimed to support Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. -AFPMore
