NHRC seeks Action Taken Report on Russian tourists' deaths from Rayagada SP

The mysterious deaths of Russian tourists in Odisha have come under NHRC scrutiny as it sought to see the Action Taken Report (ATR) from the Rayagada SP on Monday.

Bhubaneshwar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) panel on Monday sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from the Rayagada SP on the recent case of mysterious deaths of two Russians. “It is requested that an Action Taken Report be sent to the Commission within 4 weeks from the date of receipt of this letter,” the NHRC stated in the order addressed to Rayagada SP.

Pavel Antov, a Russian oligarch and billionaire, arrived in India on a trip for his birthday celebrations with three other friends. One of his co-travelers Vladimir Bidanov died of a heart attack on December 25 in Rayagada. Two days later, Antov died of internal injuries as he fell off the third floor of the hotel he was staying in.

Though it prima facie seemed like a suicide case, the officials have not entirely eliminated the possibility of murder, given that Antov was a billionaire and an open critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.