Russians' deaths in Odisha: Moscow envoy praises India's probe; mocks Indian opposition leader

Russian ambassador to India Denis Alipov on Friday (30) praised the investigation that India conducted into the mysterious deaths of two Russian nationals in a hotel in the eastern coastal state of Odisha in a span of two days last week.

He also responded to the questions raised by Manish Tewari, a parliamentarian from India's opposition Indian National Congress, about cremating the two individuals saying cremation is also a part of Russian culture.

Tewari had suspected that the cremation of the two Russian men destroyed evidence related to their deaths. One of the two deceased, Pavel Antov, was known to be a critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.

“We appreciate the investigation efforts by the Indian authorities into the death of two Russian nationals in Odisha. 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,” Ambassador Alipov said on Twitter.

The Poirot remark was an indirect dig at Tewari who had tweeted a day earlier about the cremation of the dead Russians saying: "Hercule Poirot says burnt bodies tell no tales."

Antov and his associate Vladimir Bidenov died under unexplained circumstances in the hotel located in Odisha's Rayagada district between December 22 and 24. The duo were cremated after post-mortem and the local police ruled out any criminal angle even though questions remained.

Tewari also responded to the Russian envoy's "Hercule Poirot lovers" dig by quoting from the Orthodox Christian Information Center, “The order of burial which we have at present has been sanctified by ancient custom and, as such, is protected by the sacred canons; ….On the contrary, cremation of bodies is unacceptable from the Church's point of view,”