Wealthy Putin critic found dead at a hotel in India

Russian lawmaker and philanthropist Pavel Antov, who was also a fervent critic of Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, was found dead in a hotel in the Indian state of Odisha.

The multi-millionaire died after falling from the third floor of his hotel in the Rayagada district of the state on Saturday. He died just two days after his fellow traveller, Vladimir Budanov, also died at the same hotel.

Antov was found lying in a pool of blood outside the hotel on Saturday, while his friend Budanov was found lying unconscious in his room with a few empty wine bottles around him.

"After post-mortem, it was found that he (Budanov) suffered a heart stroke, died and was cremated. His friend, (Pavel Antov) was depressed after his death and he too died on Dec 25," read a statement from SP, Vivekananda Sharma, according to The Hindu. The local police said that they suspect Antov's death to be a suicide.

The Russian Embassy said in a statement: "We are in constant contact with the relatives of the deceased as well as with local authorities. As far as we know, police do not yet see a criminal component in these tragic events."

Antov had travelled to Odisha to celebrate his upcoming 66th birthday. Budanov and Antov were part of a four-member group who had checked into the hotel last week. The other two members have been asked to stay back as the investigation in the case continues.

Antov was a staunch Putin critic. He was also a member of the legislative assembly of the Vladimir region. He had recently criticised Russian attacks on Ukraine but retracted the statement soon after. In June, he had described the war as Russian "terror."

He later retracted the statement and made a "grovelling apology." He insisted that he had "always supported the president" and "sincerely" supported Putin's "special military operation" in Ukraine.