PANAJI
As police pursue the probe into the murder of two Russian women and assess whether they were the only victims of Russian national Aleksei Leonov, his mobile phone has yielded over 100 photographs of different women, raising fresh concerns.
Leonov, currently in judicial custody, had initially confessed to killing Elena Kasthanova and Elena Vaneeva over money disputes and borrowing of a fire-dancing crown. During questioning, he allegedly went further, claiming responsibility for five more killings, including that of a woman from Assam.
Senior officials reiterated that Mandrem police are treating these claims with serious caution, citing his alleged display of psychopathic tendencies, while simultaneously carrying out parallel checks on every lead emerging from the seized device and his movements in Goa.
“We are examining all possibilities to verify whether he is linked to any other deaths, right from the day of his arrest. His phone contained more than 100 images of women and a couple of men. We need to establish who they are, why these photos were stored on his device and whether any of them may have been harmed. Wherever possible, efforts will be made to trace these women,” a police source told The Goan.
One of these inquiries is about Mridusmita Sainkia, hailing from Assam, who was found dead at her residence in Korgao around 10 days ago. Police sources said they are verifying information that she and Leonov had known each other for a long time and had travelled together to Goa on multiple occasions. The possibility of a suspected drug overdose is also being examined.
“Leonov was known to charm strangers quickly but also had a tendency to get easily provoked, which would lead to violent behaviour. He was also involved in assault-related altercations in the past, though no formal complaints were lodged. We are examining these leads as well,” sources added.
As per the probe so far, monetary disputes as earlier cited was the immediate trigger in the killings of Kasthanova and Vaneeva. Kasthanova, a go-go and fire dancer, had allegedly borrowed money and a fire crown from Leonov, also a fireworks artist, while Vaneeva had borrowed money as well. When neither returned what was owed, Leonov allegedly killed them in their rooms at Arambol and Morjim on January 14 and 15, with their throats slit.
