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2 women claimed to have been killed by Russian man are alive: Goa Police
Aleksei Leonov, 37, had also claimed to have smothered a 40-year-old Assam woman found dead in Goa on January 14 due to a suspected drug overdose
PANAJI: Two of the foreign nationals claimed to have been killed by Russian national Aleksei Leonov had left the country and are alive, a senior Goa police officer said on Tuesday, underlining that the man arrested on charges of murdering two Russian women had made exaggerated claims during his interrogation.
Leonov, 37, had also allegedly claimed to have smothered a 40-year-old Assam woman living in Goa who was found dead on January 14 due to a suspected drug overdose. But her autopsy did not reveal any injury marks, the officer said.
The Russian man was arrested in Arambol, a village popular among foreigners, early on January 16 for murdering Elena Kashtanova, 37, his live-in partner and a go-go and fire dancer. During interrogation, he revealed that he also killed Elena Vaneeva, a bubble artist, the night before. Both victims were Russian and had their throats slit.
Leonov told the police that he was a close friend of the two women who were killed over a monetary dispute.
“We verified the claim and have found that in at least two cases, the women whom he claimed to have murdered were alive and have left India. So far, besides the two women he killed within hours of each other, we have yet to establish his role in any of the deaths he claimed,” a police official familiar with the investigation, who declined to be quoted, said.
Police said they are verifying claims that he killed people in other parts of the country, including Himachal Pradesh. In all, Leonov is reported to have claimed to have killed about 10-12 women.
“We believe that his claims are attempts to mislead investigators or that he’s exaggerating claims under the influence of psychotropic substances,” the police official also said.
For now, police said the investigation has only revealed Leonov’s alleged role in the murder of the two Russian women. The Russian Embassy has been notified about the incident and the repatriation of the bodies of the two victims.
