Putin critic spotted at Odisha railway station not missing, say cops

A Russian man, who was spotted with a placard against the Ukraine war and President Vladimir Putin, hasn't gone missing, confirmed Odisha Police on Saturday after some reports said the 60-year-old Putin critic had gone missing from the Bhubaneswar railway station.

This comes amid the mystery surrounding the death of two Russian men in a hotel in Odisha's Rayagada.

Pavel Antov (65), a Russian lawmaker, businessman and a Putin critic, was found lying in a pool of blood in Odisha’s Rayagada district, just two days after the death of his friend, Vladimir Bidenov, in the same hotel. Bidenov died of stroke and Antov, depressed over Bidenov's death, fell from the third floor of the hotel, the police said.

On Friday, a man was spotted at Bhubaneswar railway station with a placard that read: I am a Russian refugee. I am against war and against Putin. I am homeless. Please help me. Later, there were reports that the man, another Putin critic, had gone missing.

However, police dismissed the reports and said the Russian national has been living in Odisha for some time now and was spotted at the same station a month ago.

A top official of the Railway Police told India Today that there is no missing complaint registered about the Russian with the Government Railway Police (GRP).

"In the month of November, we first spotted the man with the poster at the station. We verified his passport. He was seeking money from passengers. We verified his details and sent him back to Puri that time. Since then, he has been staying in Puri with his group. This incident has nothing to do with the incident at Rayagada [hotel]," he said.