Russia: A scientist involved in the team making Covid vaccine was strangled to death with a belt, Putin had given respect

Andrey Botikov, one of the scientists involved in the process of making the Kovid-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V' in Russia, was strangled to death with a belt in his apartment. Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder. Russian media gave this news on Saturday.

Russian news agency Tass quoted the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation as saying that 47-year-old Botikov, 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 President Vladimir Putin honored the virologist with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland award for his work on the Covid vaccine. As per reports, Botikov was one of the 18 scientists who developed the Sputnik V vaccine in 2021.

The investigative authority in Russia said in a statement that the scientist's death is being investigated as murder.

According to investigators, a 29-year-old man strangled Botikov with a belt during an argument and fled. Law enforcement agencies in their report said that the murder was a domestic crime and was the result of a struggle. The suspect was arrested shortly after Botnikov's body was found, according to the Federal Investigation Agency.

He said, 'The location of the attacker was known within a short time. The accused youth has a previous criminal record, he is already facing trial for committing a serious crime. Shortly, the investigating team plans to file a petition in the court to keep the respondent in custody pending trial.

Also Read: American-Russian Foreign Ministers meeting, Blinken said – America will not back down from supporting Ukraine