New Delhi, December 30
Denis Alipov pushed back at conspiracy theorists, including Congress MP Manish Tewari, for trying to sensationalise the sudden deaths of two Russian holidaying in Rayagada, Odisha.
Alipov in particular focused on Tewari’s reference to the French detective Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries.
“Two Christians cremated not buried! Why? Hercule Poirot says burnt bodies tell no tales”, tweeted Tewari while sharing an article by an American media house which said at least eight prominent Russians, who had turned critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had died by suicides or accidents.
Tewari also wanted to know why were the bodies of the two Russians cremated and not buried although they were Christians and, in this context, quoted a line by Hercule Poirot that ‘Burnt bodies tell no tales’.
Alipov while appreciating the investigations by the Indian authorities into the deaths of the two Russians, corrected Tewari by stating that cremations are customary in Russia, as are burials.
“Meanwhile, it would be useful for some Hercule Poirot lovers to learn that cremation in Russia is as customary as burial. Idleness is the root of all evil,’’ tweeted the Russian envoy.
Antov’s daughter Anna Pavlovna Antova also told the media that cremation is a usual custom in Russia and her grandmother was similarly cremated a few years ago. Anna and Bydanov’s son had power of attorney to Rayagada police to cremate the bodies of their fathers.
The two Russians had died in quick succession at a hotel in Odisha’s Rayagada. While Vladimir Bydanov, was found dead inside the hotel room on December 22, Pavel Antov allegedly committed suicide after attending his funeral on December 25.
The Russian Consul General in Kolkata Alexei Idamkin said authorities in Odisha had contacted the family members and cremated them in Rayagada itself after being asked to do so.
Antov and his three friends had arrived in India to celebrate his 66th birthday. The Odisha government has initiated a Crime Branch probe into the case.