MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian tourist held in India over an alleged attempt to bring a hunting rifle cartridge on board a plane more than a year ago will return to Russia within two weeks, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Last week an Indian court dropped charges against Anatoly Valenko, a Russian citizen arrested at a Goa airport on January 13, 2012, after a hunting rifle cartridge was found in his bag.
Valenko pleaded not guilty, saying the cartridge went unnoticed after he accidentally left it in his bag, having used the bag for a hunting trip in Russia.
He was released earlier this month on a minimum bail of some $800, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry noted that the case was resolved relatively quickly, because under local legal practice a similar inquiry might take around two years to complete.
The officials are now collecting all the documents needed to get Valenko back to Russia.
