Richard Bitiev was detained in the village of Leningor, South Ossetia shortly following the alleged shooting.
South Ossetian boxer Richard Bitiev was detained by police officers on suspicion of shooting his opponent in the leg ahead of their scheduled fight.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs in South Ossetia confirmed that Bitiev was detained in the village of Leningor, South Ossetia after allegedly shooting fellow boxer Tahir Kelekhsaev. The operation to detain the 24-year-old was conducted by officers from the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Leningorsky District, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Criminal Police and the Special Police Department.
“Today, at about 11 o’clock, citizen Richard Bitiev, who is suspected of committing this crime, was detained in the Leningor district, the village of Leningor, and is now giving confessions,” the Minister of Internal Affairs revealed. “The operative-investigative group of the Ministry of Internal Affairs worked at the site. We are conducting the necessary investigative measures to clarify all the circumstances of this incident.”
The incident in question took place on April 9, on the eve of ‘Cup of Alanya’ international boxing tournament. Bitiev reportedly shot Kelekhsaev with a traumatic pistol (non-lethal firearm), leaving his opponent with several gunshot wounds in his legs.
Kelekhsaev was hospitalized in stable condition but was forced to withdraw from the tournament.