A 37-year-old Russian national has been arrested in North Goa for allegedly killing two Russian women in separate incidents following disputes, police said on Friday, describing the case as a shocking instance of violent crime involving foreign nationals in the coastal state.
The accused has been identified as Alexey (also known as Aleksei) Leonov. According to investigators, he allegedly murdered his girlfriend, 37-year-old Elena Kastanova, on Thursday night at a rented house in Arambol. Police said the couple had been living together at the property and had a heated argument shortly before the incident.
During the altercation, Leonov allegedly tied Kastanova’s hands and feet in an attempt to confine her inside the room. When she reportedly tried to escape, he attacked her with a sharp weapon and slit her throat, killing her on the spot. The house owner, Uttam Naik, became aware of the incident and immediately informed the police, who reached the spot and arrested the accused. A case has been registered against him under case number 05.26 and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police later disclosed that this was not the first killing allegedly committed by Leonov. He is also accused of murdering another Russian woman, 37-year-old Elena Vaneeva, a day earlier in Morjim, also in North Goa. According to police, the incident took place on the night of January 14, after 11 pm, following a dispute between the two. Vaneeva’s landlady filed a complaint stating that Leonov had slit the woman’s neck inside her rented room.
Investigators said that after the first killing in Morjim, Leonov allegedly travelled to Arambol, located around eight kilometres away, on the evening of January 15 to meet Kastanova. It was there that the second murder allegedly took place. Police recovered the bodies of both women on Friday during their investigation.
Leonov was arrested by the Mandrem police, and officials said a detailed probe into the sequence of events, the motive behind the killings and the accused’s movements is currently underway. Police are also examining whether there were any prior complaints or warning signs in either case.
