CLOUDS OF UNCERTAINTY AS CRIMES AGAINST RUSSIANS SCAR TOURISM

PANAJI

Way back in 2015, the then-Russian parliament’s round table discussion skipped India from the list of safe destinations for their citizens. Amid fear of an impact on charter seasons in the State that heavily depends on the tourism business, the flow of Russian tourists improved. But, the situation is a bit tricky this season considering that cases of crime against Russians are being seriously viewed by the Consulate.

The mystery behind the death of model Alexandra Re-Djavi and the forced eviction of a group of holidayers from a resort in Morjim, Pernem are just two cases where Goa’s image can take a beating at the international level.

The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Mumbai expressed concern over the police’s inaction into the unauthorised eviction of a Russian family from Rococco Valletta hotel in Morjim, Pernem.

“…Such a terrible and still unresolved incident involving Russian nationals in Goa can certainly harm the image of the State as a desirable tourism destination for Russian people entailing economic and reputation costs. Meanwhile, our Diplomatic Mission strongly believes in the most quick, effective and peaceful resolution of the above-mentioned problem,” a letter to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Goa Police, said.

A VICTIM SHARES ORDEAL

The Goan spoke to the victim, who claimed their repeated requests to Goa police to arrest the accused, fetched no outcome. Ksenia Kirdanova, a business visa holder is disappointed that she didn’t live up to her promise to give her parents Vladimir and Larisa the best vacation in Goa.

On a rainy afternoon of July 16, armed locals took control of the hotel where her family and other guests were accommodated.

“While I was out with my mother, around 15-20 bouncers barged into the premises without notice. They forcibly evicted the guests including my father and seized our belongings. After much pleading, they returned our passports,” Ksenia said.

As she shared her ordeal with the daily, Ksenia claimed the persons were armed with sticks and hurled abuses at them.

“Pernem police did nothing to our complaint. I then approached police higher-ups with written representations requesting them to take action against the goons but in vain. Neither arrests are made nor our luggage is back,” she lamented. With no house keys and other relevant documents, Ksenia said her parents cannot travel back to Moscow, where they live. The elderly couple has applied to the authorities in Goa and Delhi to extend their tourist visa owing to the inconclusive case.

RUSSIAN CONSUL GENERAL

REQUESTS URGENT ACTION

With the Consul General taking strict cognisance of the matter, Goa Police through its Deputy Inspector General of Police Aslam Khan has assigned Superintendent of Police Bossuet Silva to inquire into lapses by Pernem police. It is learnt that FIR registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code has not included other sections despite the complainant describing the incident in detail.

In its latest communiqué to CM, Director General of Police Jaspal Singh, Foreigners Regional Registration Office and its office in Goa, Consul General Aleksei Surovtsev has ‘requested’ to ‘urgently’ take all the necessary actions to ensure the Kirdanov family has their belongings back without any further delay.

ADVOCATE OF RUSSIAN

EMBASSY OPTIMISTIC

Advocate Vikram Varma, representing the Russian Embassy in Goa, on being contacted by The Goan for comment said he is still optimistic that Goa police will take corrective action.

“The baggage and money of these tourists were snatched in broad daylight and they were assaulted and pushed out from the hotel that they were living in by a group of more than 20 persons. I am informed that despite video footage of the incident and a large number of eyewitnesses, the Pernem police unfortunately have not been able to make any progress in the investigations or recovered stolen goods. An appeal has been made to the higher authorities and I sincerely hope that corrective action would be taken swiftly,” he said.

DEATHS OF RUSSIAN

NATIONALS IN GOA

The State has another reason to worry as the 24-year-old Djavi is yet to get justice. The actor-model who had appeared in the Tamil film Kanchana 3 was found hanging at her rented apartment near Siolim on August 19, 2021. There was no suicide note found and her family is still struggling to convince the Anjuna police that she was murdered. But the police officials said that only an autopsy report can ascertain the exact cause of death... and it has been over a year now.

“Her viscera samples were sent to the Verna forensic science laboratory soon after we registered a case of unnatural death. We have sent them a reminder,” SDPO Jivba Dalvi said when contacted by The Goan for an update on the case.

The family has demanded a murder case against the accused and an interrogation of the deceased’s boyfriend who is believed to have flown back to Russia.

“All human lives are precious regardless of them being Indian citizens or visitors to our country. In matters of murder, timely inputs from forensic doctors and scientists are critical to the registration of crime and investigations. Lack of these inputs or ambiguity in the probable cause of death can be a huge setback for both investigations and the trial,” he said adding, “I understand that the lack of a 'probable cause of death' report from forensics has delayed further action from the Goa Police in this case. Both the Chief Minister and the Director General of Police have zero tolerance for crimes against women and I do hope that we would be able to get to the truth in the matter.”

In a separate incident, another Russian woman Ekaterina Titova was also found dead in her rented apartment. No external injuries were found on her body in the preliminary investigation, and as per reports she reportedly consumed alcohol till the early morning of the fateful day with a female friend, after which she went to bed. Russian man Denis Kriuchkoy was arrested for the alleged killing as the post-mortem report by Goa Medical College and Hospital suspected foul play. Kriuchkov, on being questioned, confessed to killing the woman.

These are just a few examples of how foreign visitors, particularly the country that tops the arrivals list in Goa are treated, but the truth also remains that quite a few are in conflict with the law. 

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GOA TOURISM LIKELY TO BEAR THE 
BRUNT OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Not the incidents of crime alone, but Russia’s dramatic escalation of its attack on Ukraine is likely to keep its citizens away from enjoying a holiday in Goa. After the problem of issuing e-visa for UK travellers, the war between Russia-Ukraine might upset Goa’s tourism stakeholders this charter season.

The cancellation of the charter flight of Azur Air from Moscow was unexpected, though it will resume one flight per day from mid-November. But one of the main Russian charter airlines, Royal Flights has ceased to operate this season, which means Goa will lose around 2,500 passengers per week.

“We did not apply for slots because of the turmoil (war). The airlines anticipated there won’t be a demand as many Russians have volunteered to fight in Ukraine, after President Vladimir Putin’s call,” the airline’s Goa representative Melroy D’Costa told The Goan.

If the situation was normal, D’Costa said, the airlines would have handled 10 flights per week and each carrier bringing in 250 approx passengers to Goa. Nevertheless, another Russian airline Aeroflot is expected to fly three flights to Goa per week from next month. It will be a scheduled flight.

Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) still hopes for the best. Its President Nilesh Shah said the State will have tourists from Russia starting next month.

“We are expecting Russian tourists from November. We will however get a clear picture of the entire tourist season in the next 15-20 days,” he said.

Advocate Vikram Varma, representing the Russian Embassy in Goa claimed that the coastal State is a favoured destination of a large number of Europeans and Russians, but the conflict between the two nations could play a spoilsport. “They love not only the sun and the sand but also the goodness and warmth of most Goans. However, due to the possibility of an escalation in the conflict in Ukraine, I do see many Russians probably cancelling their vacations this season and staying back to defend their families and motherland. Peace and harmony are essential ingredients for tourism, I do hope that collectively we can achieve peace and an increase in tourism by next season,” he said.

The season has already seen a delay as the first charter from the UK cancelled its trip owing to the withdrawal of the e-visa by the Central government.

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Russians caught on the other side of the law

Ten Russians deported have been in the last three years. Over a dozen are currently in the judicial lockup in Colvale Jail for various offences

- September 2022: Kirill Khadarin and Nikolei Balandin were among others arrested by the Crime Branch for operating “Texas Holdem”, a form of ‘game of chance’ online gambling in Mandrem

- September 2022: Anti-Narcotics Cell arrested Maxim Makarov, 38-year-old for allegedly peddling Hashish oil, weighing 900 gms and valued at Rs 9 lakh, from Morjim

- April 2022: Konstantin Isael arrested for allegedly peddling 2.40 kg marijuana in Arambol

- February 2019: Ilia Aleksandrovich Shtennikov was arrested for illegally cultivating a cannabis plant in Mandrem; the cannabis plant weighing 608 grams (Rs 65,000) was seized from the foreigner’s rented room

- March 2020: Vasily Rakhmanov was arrested for cultivating cannabis plants in Morjim. The plant weighing 33 kgs (Rs 82.50 lakh) was seized from his rented room and the terrace

- October 2020: Aleksei Perevalov and Aleksei Rebriev were also caught for the same offence. The plant weighing 106 gms (Rs 1 lakh) besides a dried leafy substance suspected to be Ganja weighing 2.5 kg (Rs 2.50 lakh) were seized