New Delhi: A Russian politician who criticised Vladimir Putin for Russia’s invasion in Ukraine died after falling off the third-floor window of a hotel in Odisha’s Rayagada, reported the Telegraph. Pavel Antov, who was a member of Putin’s United Russia party and a multi-millionaire, was reportedly on a trip to celebrate his upcoming 66th birthday when he was found lying in a pool of blood outside the Hotel Sai International in Rayagada, the report added.
Confirming Pavel’s death, the Rayagada Police told news agency PTI that they were suspecting it to be a case of suicide.
“Pavel was in depression due to the death of his friend,” a senior police official told the news agency.
As per the Telegraph report, Pavel had posted a story on his WhatsApp in July criticising Russia’s missile attacks on Kyiv as “terrorism”, referring to reports of a girl that had been pulled out from rubble after her house had been shelled.
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Shortly afterwards, he apologised for the post, claiming that the message had been posted by someone else. He said he was “a supporter of the president and my country’s patriot” and “shared the goals” of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, Russia’s consul-general in Kolkata, Alexei Idamkin told the Tass news agency that there was no foul play in the lawmaker’s death.
The Russian politician’s death was reported two days after his friend and fellow traveller, Vladimir Bidenov, was found dead at the same hotel on December 22.
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Vladimir and Pavel were part of a four-member group of Russian tourists who along with their guide Jitendra Singh had checked into the hotel in Rayagada town on Wednesday, stated the PTI report.
A senior police officer was quoted by NDTV as saying Antov was depressed “due to the death of his friend”.
On Pavel’s death, police said they were investigating his death from all angles, including the possibility that he had fallen from the terrace accidentally.
