News

Today, around 6:30 p.m. near house N 57 of 8^th micro-district of the town of Elista, two unknown persons attacked Deputy Head of office for especially important cases of the Kalmykia Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee Major of Justice Vladimir Katnanov. The attackers hit him in the head with a heavy object and fled the crime scene. At present the victim is under necessary medical treatment.

The Kalmykia Republic investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have launched a criminal case over the incident on the signs of a crime under part 2 of article 318 of the RF Criminal Code (use of violence against a representative of the authority dangerous for life and health).

At present investigating actions are underway to establish all circumstances of the incident and persons involved in it. Katnanov is head of the department the investigators of which are investigating cases over banditry, not obvious and classified murders and other especially serious crimes, that is why investigators do not rule out the version that the attack was an attempt to press down the making of procedural decisions in one of the cases in the proceedings of the department. In view of this investigators consider the major version of the attack as Katnanov’s professional activity. An Investigating group has already started studying criminal cases, with which Katnanov had anything to do.

One thing I can say for sure this is not the first crime committed against investigators of the Committee in connection with their professional activity. From the moment the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation was created, its investigators were repeatedly threatened because of their principled position in investigating criminal cases and those threats are growing more frequent to be implemented, especially in South and North Caucasus Federal Districts. But despite the danger our investigators are exposed to in their daily work, they continue to honestly and professionally discharge their duties, to fight crimes.