Two Dead Russians & 1 Odisha Hotel: Mystery Shrouds Deaths of 2 Tourists in Rayagada

Two Russian tourists’ deaths have puzzled Odisha cops. A multi-millionaire, who was on a vacation at Rayagada region in Odisha, allegedly died after falling off the third floor of the hotel he was staying in, two days after his fellow traveller was found dead there.

The deceased, Pavel Antov, was in Odisha to celebrate his 65th birthday.  Pavel was found dead on Sunday, December 25. This is the second death of Russian lawmakers within a week in the same Odisha hotel. The case of Pavel’s death has become even more mysterious with reports of him being a “Putin critic”, sparking murmurs of a hit-job as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s critics have died in similar ways in Russia in the past.

Vivekananda Sharma, superintendent of police, who is investigating Antov’s death, said the body was cremated on Monday with the permission from his family, the officials said.

Confirming the news, Vyacheslav Kartukhin, Vice Speaker of the Regional Parliament on the Telegram channel said: “Our colleague, a successful entrepreneur, and philanthropist Pavel Antov passed away. On behalf of the deputies of the United Russia faction, I express my deep condolences to relatives and friends,” ANI quoted Russian news agency TASS report.

Pavel’s death comes two days after the mysterious death of his party colleague, Vladimir Budanov, 61, who was also found dead in a hotel in Odisha’s Rayagada.

Four Russian tourists, including Vladimir and Antov, had checked into the hotel on December 21 after visiting Daringbadi in the Kandhamal district.

“Four people came to stay in a hotel in Rayagada on December 21. On December 22 morning, one of them (B Vladimir) died. After post-mortem, it was found that he suffered a heart stroke, died and was cremated. His friend, (Pavel Antonov) was depressed after his death and he too died on Dec 25,” the SP added.

Meanwhile, Jitendra Singh, a Russian tourist guide, in an exclusive interview told ANI that the four had come to stay in Rayagada hotel. “One of them was a 61-yr-old man, B Vladimir, who was ill. The next morning, when we came to his room, he was found dead. We had then called the police.”