Top scientist behind Russia's Sputnik V Covid vaccine 'strangled to death with a belt
Moscow, Mar 4: Andrey Botikov, one of the scientists who helped to create the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, was strangled to death with a belt at his apartment here and police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder, according to a Russian media report on Saturday.
Botikov, 47, who worked as a senior researcher at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Ecology and Mathematics, was found dead in his apartment on Thursday, Russian News Agency TASS quoted the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin honoured the virologist with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland award for his work on the COVID vaccine in 2021. Botikov was one of 18 scientists who developed the Sputnik V vaccine in 2020, according to reports.
His death is being investigated as a murder, the committee, which is the investigating authority in Russia, said in a Telegram statement.
According to investigators, a 29-year-old young man strangled Botikov with a belt during an argument and fled. Law enforcement agencies said the murder was a domestic crime and the result of a conflict, the report said.
The suspect was arrested shortly after Botikov's body was found, the federal investigative agency said in the statement.
"The location of the attacker was established in short order. During the interrogation, he pled guilty and was charged. The defendant has a previous criminal record, as he stood trial on charges of committing a serious crime. In the near future, the investigation plans to petition the court to place the defendant in custody pending trial," the Investigative Committee said.
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Suvendu Adhikari says Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel taught Gaza”
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”
Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.
The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.
Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.
Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.
Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.
The @BJP4India’s Bengal ‘face’ wants a Gaza like operation against Bangladesh. Dog whistles that the @narendramodi government is for ‘Hindus’ only. Do you concur with this @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar ? Dirty politics of Divide and Rule won’t work in Bengal, @SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/vLWm9b3AXb
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 27, 2025
