By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar, IANS,
Panaji : In a major blow to the credibility of the Goa Police, Russian authorities have refused to accept their contention that 19-year-old Elena Sukhova’s death was accidental.
In a letter to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Russian consul general Alexander Mantytsky asked him to take “personal control” of the police investigation since “the accident theory doesn’t seem conclusive”.
Russian authorities came to this conclusion after they made field visits to Revora village in North Goa, where Elena’s mutilated body was found along the railway track last week, advocate Vikarma Varma, representative of the Russian cosulate, told IANS.
“Having visited the scene where Sukhonova’s mutilated body was found, the accident theory doesn’t seem conclusive,” states the letter, which was sent a few days ago.
Mantytsky has further said that the case was being monitored by top Russian officials from their diplomatic missions in Mumbai and New Delhi.
He further implored the chief minister “to take personal control and give instructions to carry out investigation at the earliest and keep the consul general well-informed on the above matter”.
The chief minister, however, said he was unaware of such a letter.
“I have not seen the letter yet. I was not in Goa for the last few days,” Kamat told IANS.
The police have been markedly inconsistent in their theories as to what could have led to the Russian teenager’s death.
Superintendent of Police (North) Tony Fernnades, the probe’s chief supervisory officer, has switched his version nearly three times from “accidental death” to “all options are open” to “accidental death” yet again.
The police have already detained and released the driver Vardhaman Simepurushkar who allegedly taken Elena to the railway station in Revora, about 30 km form here, Friday morning and the waiter Vinnie, who had reportedly befriended the deceased.