VARANASI: War destroys lives in unimaginable ways. Kostiantyn Beliaiev, a 50-year-old Ukrainian living in Haridwar, knew it the hard way. Depressed over losing many family members in the Russia-Ukraine war, Beliaiev, who had embraced sanatan dharm and assumed the name of ‘Kripa Baba’ after getting associated with an ashram in Haridwar, had ended his life at a guest house in Narad Ghat area of Kashi’s Bhelupur area on the Christmas night.
His Russian girlfriend, who stayed in the same guest house and didn’t want to be named due to security reasons, was out of the town that day. On receiving the news, she came back rushing and expressed her wish to perform his last rites.
