With the death of three Russians under mysterious circumstances within a span of last fortnight in Odisha including a lawmaker reportedly a critic of President Vladimir Putin, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said India is a large country where a lot of foreigners visit and a necessary probe is being carried out in the deaths of two Russians in Odisha. “We are now aware of the death of a Russian sailor in international waters off the coast of Odisha. His body has been brought to Paradip Port for formalities. I wouldn’t like to link all three cases together,” he said.
This response came after the body of Russian marine engineer Milyakov Sergey (51) was found inside a cargo ship anchored in the sea near Paradip port on January 3.
It was the third such incident involving Russians with the first incident on December 22 and the second on December 24 in a hotel in Rayagada town of Odisha. The second incident involved Russian lawmaker Pavel Antov (65) while the first person was identified as Vladimir Bidanov.
Antov had fallen to death from the third floor of the hotel while his associate Bidanov was found dead in his room.
Meanwhile, the Marine Police Station in Paradip along with the Jagatsinghpur district administration on Wednesday conducted post-mortem examination of Milyakov.
“The autopsy has been completed, viscera collected and sent for forensic examination. The body will be handed over to a proper agency as per the protocol,” said Kujang tahsildar Pritiparna Mishra, who was present as a magistrate during the autopsy.
However, one of the doctors involved in the autopsy claimed there was an injury mark on the left side of Sergey’s forehead. “It could be due to a fall. The details can be ascertained from the forensic report,” the doctor explained, adding that the injury markmay not necessarily point to foul play.
In the Rayagada deaths, the CID continued to interrogate the hotel staffers, while the seized items will be sent for forensic examination.
“As there has been no evidence or clue pointing at foul play in the twin deaths, the investigating agency is contemplating to recreate the circumstances that led to the death of Antov,” an official said, adding the CID specifically plans to conduct a dummy simulation exercise of falling from the rooftop under similar circumstances.
Referring to the agency’s plan, the official said an object with weight and height similar to that of Antov will be made. Experts will try to ascertain the nature of the incident and injury marks on Antov’s body, and cross-check with the autopsy report. “This exercise is expected to help the probe team reach at a definite conclusion,” the official said.