24-year-old Russian woman Ri Djavi Alexandra who committed suicide in Siolim, Goa was depressed

PANAJI: After the death of two Russian women in Goa’s Siolim village in separate incidents, the local police said prima facie, no foul play is involved in the two cases.

“We are not suspecting any foul play as of now. However, we will wait for statements from the Russian representatives from the embassy and the final decision on the cause of death by the medico-legal examination,” North Goa Superintendent of Police (SP) Shobhit Saksena told news agency ANI.

The post mortem of the two deceased Alexandra Ri Djavi (24) and Ekaterina Titova (34) will be conducted after the Russian embassy appoints representatives in the two separate cases of death reported on Thursday and Friday.

“In both cases, we are following legal procedure. We have written to the embassy to appoint a representative and inquest proceeding in the meantime. Once the representative is assigned, further medico-legal formalities such as post mortem examination will be conducted,” he said.

One of the deceased, Ri Djavi Alexandra is a Russian-born actress, who lived in Chennai to pursue her career in acting in the South Indian film industry.

During the lock down,she moved to Goa as there was no work in the South, besides there were many Russians living in North Goa.

She was apparently depressed as work had dried up and there was no source of income. Further, with the film and tourism industry in Goa in the doldrums, with no sign of revival in the near future, living in Goa had become difficult.

Meanwhile, an advocate for the Russian consulate in Mumbai and Goa, Vikram Varma said that Djavi, one of the deceased had registered an FIR with Chennai police in 2019 over alleged blackmailing for sexual favours.

“Alexandra Ri Djavi had been blackmailed in 2019 for sexual favours. After preliminary enquiry, the Chennai police had registered an FIR,” said Varma.

Alexandra Ri Djavi had filed a complaint against a photographer named Roopesh Kumar of Chennai who made her pose for a photo shoot and later asked her to sleep with him.

According to a report in India Today, the photographer blackmailed Ri Djavi Alexandra threatening her to release her morphed images on the internet if she didn’t fulfill his demands. The Chennai Police had investigated the matter and found her claims to be true. The photographer was arrested and was in custody at the Puzhal jail.

He also said that officers, diplomats from the Russian consulate are expected to be visiting Goa in September to look into the matter. The bodies of the two women have been kept safely in morgue of Goa Medical College, Varma added.

Anjuna police station had visited the two sites of incidents in Siolim.

According to Police Sub Inspector Mahesh G Kerkar, Djavi was found hanging in her rented room at Gublawado, Oxel Siolim, Bardez Goa on August 19 and her fiance who returned from Morjim found the door locked.

Police said Djavi, who shared her apartment with her boyfriend, was found hanging in a room with the door latched from inside. While it is suspected that she may have died by suicide, police officials said that only a post mortem report can confirm the exact cause of death.

Meanwhile, Titova was found lying dead in her bedroom on Friday.