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INDIAN POLICE ARE investigating the sudden death of a wealthy Russian politician who reportedly criticised the Ukraine war, authorities said today.
The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was found Saturday in a pool of blood outside his lodgings in eastern Odisha state, where he was on holiday with three other Russian nationals.
His death came two days after another member of the travel party, Vladimir Bidenov, was found unconscious after suffering an apparent heart attack at the same hotel and could not be revived.
Police said they were reviewing CCTV footage, questioning hotel staff and were waiting on detailed autopsy reports, but so far there was no sign of foul play.
“All possible angles as regards to the deaths of two Russian nationals are being verified,” regional police chief Rajesh Pandit told AFP.
Bidenov’s heart attack had likely been caused by binge drinking and a possible drug overdose, he said.
“So far it seems that Antov accidentally fell from the hotel terrace,” he added.
“He was probably disturbed by the death of his friend and went to the hotel terrace and likely fell to his death from there.”
The officer said Antov and his friends had arrived in the state in mid-December and visited several locations before arriving at their hotel in Rayagada at the start of last week.
Two local travel agents accompanying the party had also been questioned, along with the other two Russian members of the holiday group.
Antov was since 2018 a member of a regional parliament 150 kilometres east of Moscow, representing President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.
Before entering politics he founded the food processing enterprise Vladimirsky Standart and in 2019 he was ranked the richest among all parliamentarians and senior officials in the country by the Russian edition of Forbes magazine.
In June, Russian media published a WhatsApp message attributed to Antov that said a Kremlin missile bombardment on Ukraine was “terrorism”.
Antov took to the Russian social media network VK to deny writing the message, insisting that he supported Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
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Lad probably fell out a window like all the other deceased Putin critics.
@Pat O’Leary: BBC reported that he fell from the hotel window. Funny how anyone that criticises that Tosspot Putin they end up out a window or end up having heart attacks or strokes.
Russian sausage tycoon Pavel Antov dies in Indian hotel fall https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64101437
The Russian elite must be restless at the moment wondering who is next? It wouldn’t surprise me to see Putin himself take a fall at some stage
Modi a supporter of Putin. Solved.
Advice to Russian Policy Critics: Stay away from windows or people with umbrellas. Just saying….
Obviously a 2 shots in the back of the head suicide
Putin must be getting nervous, what with so many people falling dead, like on the battlefield, out of windows, oops! my car just happened to blow up.. Putin and his ideological regime, must be stopped. They spin lies to their own people to cover their own psychopathic ideals.. “MURDERERS” oops! I must be next, mustn’t get too near a window.. watch the stairs etc.. The West was never a threat to Russia. But Russia under Putin is a pariah and can never be trusted again…
Someone living in a high rise needs to invite Putin over to see their new curtains.
Defenestrations of Odisha!
The body of the recently deceased Sausage Tycoon will be cremated next week.. 5 minutes on each side, it’s what he would have wanted
have your say