Third Russian found dead in India in mysterious circumstances within two weeks

Sergey Milyakov’s body found on ship days after Putin critic dies in unexplained fall from hotel

Sergey Milyakov was working on the vessel, M B Aldnah, which was headed to Mumbai from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port via Odisha (Screengrab: YouTube/ Hindustan Times)

A shipping engineer from Murmansk was found dead in his berth at a port in eastern India on Tuesday – the third mysterious death of a Russian in the country in a fortnight.

Sergey Milyakov was the chief engineer on a vessel anchored at Paradip Port in Jagatsinghpur, Odisha.

The 51-year-old Russian was found dead inside his chamber around 4.30am, officials said.

He was working on the vessel M B Aldnah, which was heading to Mumbai from Chittagong Port in Bangladesh via Odisha.

Kremlin officials have not released any statement on the death.

Paradip Port’s chairman said an investigation has been launched into the death.

In late December, Russian sausage-magnate turned lawmaker Pavel Antov – who has criticised Vladimir Putin – died after allegedly falling from the third floor of his hotel.

Police officials had initially stated that the Russian billionaire businessman likely died by suicide in Odisha’s Rayagada district but his postmortem report termed the death as accidental.

The cause behind Antov’s death cited rupture of left lungs, liver and spleen leading to haemorrhage, shock and death, according to the Indian authorities.

He died two days after his friend and travel companion Bydanov Vladimir also succumbed to a cardiac arrest on 22 December.

While both incidents are being investigated by state police, officials have recorded Antov’s death as “unnatural” – which includes fatalities due to accidents and suicide.