Russian circus promoter dies mysteriously

Prabin Kalita / TNN / Apr 15, 2005, 05:06 IST

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GUWAHATI: In a Hitchcockian twist to the Russian Circus tragedy, in which helpless performing animals were burnt to death during a recent show in Mumbai, one of the directors of Guwahati-based event management company Choice Events, which was handling the show, has died in a Dimapur hospital due to "spear-inflicted wounds."

Russian circus promoter dies mysteriously

<div class="section0"><div class="Normal">GUWAHATI: In a Hitchcockian twist to the Russian Circus tragedy, in which helpless performing animals were burnt to death during a recent show in Mumbai, one of the directors of Guwahati-based event management company Choice Events, which was handling the show, has died in a Dimapur hospital due to "spear-inflicted wounds." It has been two weeks since owners of the circus have gone missing, giving the Mumbai police the slip, after the bizarre turn of events at the Andheri (West) show.The Oshiwara police recorded the offence under Section 336 of the IPC against the company after 18 animals - four sea lions, seven snow dogs and seven cats - were charred to death, triggering agonised protests from wildlife activists across the country. Amid conflicting reports and a string of conspiracy theories, the Dimapur (Nagaland) police on Thursday said one of the accused, Atif Mustafiz Ali - who was also a director with Choice Events and Trade Pvt Limited, a firm that owns the circus - has died of "severe wounds" in a local hospital. Ali, along with Devanga Kumar Deka and Newa Prasad Yadav, was wanted in the negligence case. Both Deka and Prasad are absconding. Police maintained that Ali in his dying declaration said he was committing suicide because his company was in "great debt." He belongs to Machkohwa village in Guwahati. Officer in-charge of Dimapur (West), Akum, told TOI that Ali was brought to the hospital in a seriously wounded condition on Wednesday afternoon. "The doctors declared him dead today at 4.30 am," the police officer said. Officers handling the case were initially reluctant to buy the suicide theory and had even taken in Ali''s companion Bani Prakash Das for questioning. Amazingly, Das told the police that he was with Ali "until a few moments before the drastic step was taken." Dimapur superintendent of police Janardan Singh, however, confirmed it was suicide. "We have so far not received any communication from the Mumbai police regarding these persons," he said. This comes even as the Mumbai police intimated officers in Guwahati about the incident, seeking leads in the probe. Police said that Ali was staying with a local villager near Padumpukhuri as a "guest" after he, along with Das, arrived in Dimapur on April 12. The trio, according to investigators, had fled Guwahati and were shifting bases in Dimapur, Nagaland''s commercial hub. Though the circus has its registered office at Rajgarh Road in Guwahati, in the name of Choice Events and Trade Pvt Limited, there is no trace of any such office in the area. Local residents are not aware of its existence. </div> </div>

About the Author

Prabin Kalita

Prabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is currently the Chief of Bureau (northeast). He has been reporting in mainstream Indian national media since 2001. He has been a field journalist reporting gamut of issues from India’s northeastern region and major developments in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh concerning India and northeastern region. He has been covering insurgency—internal and cross-border, politics, natural calamities, environment etc. He is a post-graduate in Geological Sciences from Gauhati University.

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