EDITORIAL
Goa doesn’t need foreign tourists who get involved in killing, drug peddling, sex trade
Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which the player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, puts up the muzzle against the head and pulls the trigger. It’s virtually a game of death, with the player oscillating between life and death over a bet. The recent police arrest of a Russian man in Goa for murder of two women is a replica of this deadly game. The stake presumably seems to be love!
The arrest of Alexei Leonov in Pernem taluka following the alleged murder of the two women from Russia – in Morjim and Arambol – will help the police throw light on his criminal mind. It is worth to be pointed out that public sensibilities have become so blunt that the double crime has not shaken the Goans as they should have. This social and emotional numbness is a matter of concern, especially when someone from another country visits Goa and commits cold-blooded murders. The murders came to light after authorities discovered the body of Leonov’s live-in partner Elena Kasthanova in their rented accommodation in Arambol last week. The body of the victim displayed signs of struggle, including injuries, with her hands tied behind her back with rope. Goa, once upon a time, was totally alien to such gruesome murders.
The initial investigation into Kasthanova’s murder had the police uncovering the killing of another Russian woman Elina Vaneeva probably also a victim of Leonov. Vaneeva was a mutual friend of the accused and Kasthanova. She was killed around mid-January. The police are suspecting possible connection in both murders as the modus operandi employed are quite similar. Incidentally, the witness statements suggest that argument had broken out between Leonov and Kasthanova prior to her death. Moreover Leonov had also requested a mutual friend, another Russian woman who lived near their room, to intervene. However, she refused. Eventually, the argument turned into a fight and Kasthanova’s screams were heard by neighbours. When the neighbours reached the site it was too late. Leonov had jumped from the first-floor balcony and fled. Later the police arrested him.
The police, who are examining Leonov’s background and potential links to criminal activity, suspect that the alleged murderer could be linked to more crimes, including murders. Both victims had arrived in Goa last month separately, and were friendly with their alleged murderer. Kasthanova worked as a go-go dancer at weddings, while Leonov, a fire display performer had arrived in India in 2023. Leonov has admitted that he was in a ‘living-in’ relationship with both women.
The reasons for these murders could be anything, but the fact remains that the foreigners who arrive in Goa perceiving it as a cheap beach vacation destination often desire to stay back. They subsequently work in the tourism industry; from shops to general trading, catering to hotels, touring to clubbing, and even in illegal activities. Although the government deported 234 foreigners between January 2020 and June 2025 – 82 deportations in the first half of 2025 alone – the number of such people overstaying in Goa seems to be ever increasing. The Russian and African nationals figure prominently in Goa’s crime records, being involved in crimes right from drug peddling to cultivating narcotics. It is now up to government to effectively use legislations like the newly enacted Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 to deport them. Goa certainly does not need tourists who refuse to leave the state after expiry of their visa as also disturb the law and order situation.
