Former Union minister and Congress MP Manish Tewari on Thursday questioned the cremation of the two Russian tourists who died under mysterious circumstances in a hotel in Odisha last week. Wondering why the bodies of the Russian tourists were cremated and not buried as per Christian practices, Tewari wrote on Twitter, “Hercule Poirot says burnt bodies tell no tales.”
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie.
Pavel Antov (65), a Russian MP and multi-millionaire businessman, died after allegedly falling from the hotel’s third floor on December 24. Vladimir Bidenov, his fellow traveller and hotel roommate, was also found dead in his room on December 22. The case piqued global interest because Antov was critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
Tewari had earlier posted a video on Twitter highlighting the mysterious circumstances under which the two Russian tourists were found dead.
“A Russian Oligarch ..a war Critic..an offbeat hotel..a colleague who dies under mysterious circumstances…a convenient window..another death..a cremation in India of two Christians rather than a burial…the bodies not repatriated to their native countries. If this not unnatural death then I did not go to law school,” Tewari said in a video statement.
The state police in Odisha, however, ruled out any foul play in the two deaths.
“There is no foul play. While Bydanov died of heart attack, Antov most likely jumped from the roof of the hotel terrace. But the district police are investigating the exact cause of death, and the CID (criminal investigation department) will assist district police in the probe to find out the circumstances leading to their death. If required, CID will completely take over the investigation of the case,” Odisha’s Director General of Police Sunil Bansal said after the post-mortem examination.
The CID of the Odisha Police, meanwhile, has stepped up the probe into the death of two Russian nationals, interrogating their co-travellers and the tour guide, reported PTI citing officials.
The two co-travellers, Pansasenko Natalia (44) and Turov Mikhail (64) along with their Delhi-based travel guide Jitendra Singh are being questioned, police said.
The Russian duo have been asked not to leave the state for the time being.
“The couple and the guide were taken to the crime branch office in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday and later to the state police headquarters on Wednesday, where they are being questioned on different issues like why they chose Rayagada as their destination,” PTI quoted a senior police officer as saying.
“We have so far not found any evidence indicating irregularities. The CID is probing into different angles of the incident,” the officer added.