NEW DELHI: The mysterious deaths of two Russians in Odisha recently and their subsequent cremations has stirred up a storm. Even though the local police in Odisha have said that they don’t suspect any foul play, it hasn’t refrained people from commenting.
Congress MP, Manish Tiwari, has expressed his surprise at why the two were cremated and not buried.
"Two Christians cremated not buried! Why? Hercule Poirot says burnt bodies tell no tales," Tiwari said.
Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie.
In response to this, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov lashed out at the assertion made by Tiwari.
"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, quoting Tiwari’s comment.
Interestingly, Tiwari issued a rebuttal on Ambassador Alipov’s comment. Quoting the Orthodox Christian Information centre, Tiwari tweeted, "the order of the burial which we have at present has been sanctified by ancient customs and is as such protected by the sacred canons...on the contrary, cremation of bodies is unacceptable from the church’s point of view."
The two Russians who were cremated were 65-year-old Sausage tycoon, Pavel Antov, who fell off the window of his hotel room, two days after his friend Vladimir Bidenov, 62, died due to what is viewed as excessive drinking.
Antov was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Vladimir Oblast. His sausage company "Vladimir Standard" was estimated by Forbes to be worth $140 million in 2019.
The Russian embassy has maintained all along that these two deaths were accidental and ruled out any foul play.