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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4 minor sisters found dead in well; their mother kills self at home in MP's Sagar district
Sagar (MP) (PTI): Four minor sisters aged between five months and seven years were found dead in a well on Thursday, while their mother who allegedly threw them into the water body, was found hanging at her home in a village in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, police said.
Prima facie it appears that the woman, Savita Lodhi (30), threw her four daughters into the well and later hanged herself at her house in Khamaria village, about 50km from the district headquarters, City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Lalit Kashyap told reporters.
The sisters, aged between five months and seven years, drowned in the well located in an agriculture field belonging to a local farmer, he said, adding three of the bodies have been fished out so far with the help of villagers.
On receiving information about the incident, which created panic in the village, personnel from the Kesli police station reached the spot and began an investigation.
The reason behind the suicide-murders was not yet known, according to police.
Police are questioning family members of the deceased and local residents to ascertain the circumstances leading to the incident, the CSP said.
