03 February 2005, 23:48
Dagestani deputy interior minister murdered
At about 9 p.m. on February 2, unknown people opened fire on the Niva car that Dagestani Deputy Interior Minister Magomed Omarov was in and car with bodyguards. The incident occurred in the center of Makhachkala. Witnesses say that the Niva car was overtaken by a Zhiguli car and shorts from automatic rifles were fired from it. Omarov died from wounds in the hospital. Three policemen, who accompanied him, died at the scene, and one is in the hospital with bad wounds. According to Dagestani law enforcement agencies, the criminals learnt in advance that the general would go home in the Niva car that day, not in an armored car, as usual, since it was under repair.
The murder attempt took place 200 away from the building of the Dagestani Interior Ministry and central Lenin Square, near a bus stop. This part of the town is busy. None of the numerous passers-by suffered by a fluke.
A criminal case under Article 317 "Attempting a law enforcer's life" has been opened. "The law enforcement agencies consider only one version, connected with Omarov's official work," Abdulla Musayev, a spokesman for the Dagestani Interior Ministry, said.
The search for the criminals lasted in Makhachkala for the whole night of February 2-3. The Vuklan 5 plan is being operated in the town, but the search has produced no result so far. Meanwhile, two cars left in dead-ends of the private sector of the Dagestani capital were found at night, both of them being burnt.
