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‘Meat Magnate And Putin Critic’: Crime Branch to Probe Deaths of Russian Lawmaker, Friend in Odisha Hotel


Pavel Antov and three of his friends had come to Odisha on tourist visas. File pic/News18

Pavel Antov, a sausage tycoon and lawmaker, allegedly jumped off the third floor of the hotel two days after his associate Vladimir Budanov was found dead inside his room apparently because of a heart attack

Odisha Crime Branch has taken up the investigation after the deaths of two Russian tourists in Rayagada district.

In a new twist, it has now surfaced that Pavel Antov, one of the deceased, was a Russian lawmaker and a sausage tycoon.

Director general of police Sunil Kumar Bansal said that Pavel allegedly took his own life by jumping off the third floor of a hotel in Rayagada.

The incident took place two days after the death of Antov’s party colleague Vladimir Budanov, allegedly due to a cardiac stroke.

Two unnatural death cases have been registered in this connection and the Crime Branch has been asked to take over the investigation, said Bansal.

“The autopsies of the two deceased persons have been completed. We are in constant touch with the Russian authorities in Kolkata and a probe has been initiated in this twin-death case,” he added.

Pavel Antov, said to be a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with his three friends had come to Odisha on tourist visas. After reaching Odisha via New Delhi, they went to Rayagada on December 21. They stayed at the Sai International Hotel, and had reportedly planned to visit Jeypore town.

The hotel. Pic/News18

On December 22, one of the four, Vladimir Budanov (62), was found dead inside his room. The post-mortem report confirmed heart attack as the cause of death.

Two days later, on December 24, Pavel’s body was found in a pool of blood outside the hotel. It was then reported that he fell off the room terrace and died.

If the tourist guide is to be believed, Pavel and Budanov were intimate friends and the former had been behaving differently since the death of the latter. Unable to bear the trauma, he might have ended his life, the guide said.

After informing the Russian embassy, Budanov’s last rites were performed at Rayagada. However, police have preserved the body of Pavel and launched a probe. The cops are quizzing the other two tourists.

“We are aware of the tragic demise of two Russian citizens in Odisha,” said the Russian embassy in Delhi. It added that one of those who died is Pavel Antov, a Vladimir region legislative assembly member. “The Consulate General of Russia in Kolkata is following the case in touch with local authorities. According to information available to the police, no criminal aspect is seen.”

The deaths have raised several questions like why a lawmaker took such an extreme step, why did they come down to Rayagada, what is the link between Russia and Rayagada, and had anyone sent Pavel?

The two other Russian tourists and their tour agent Jitendra Singh reached Bhubaneswar amid high security and were quizzed at the headquarters of the Crime Branch, which has formed a special team to probe the matter after the order of the DGP.

“This is a sensitive issue due to international visitors. All aspects should be investigated. From the day he came to Odisha, where he lived and whom he was associated with, it should be within the scope of the investigation. His post-mortem report is very important,” said retired police DGP Sanjeev Marik.

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