Chechen poet shot dead by mistake

MOSCOW.  May 15. KAZINFORM   While investigating the murder of prominent Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov, Moscow detectives came to the conclusion that he was killed by accident, the killer mistook the writer for his neighbor and fellow businessman Shamil Khan Besaev, Izvestia newspaper reported on Tuesday.

According to RIA Novosti, Besaev and Akhtakhanov lived on the same floor, were friends and often visited each other. Akhtakhanov was shot five times in the head and leg while parking his car in front of the building at night on November 16, 2011, the businessman was shot dead on April 20, 2012.

Investigators were unable to establish a motive for the poet's murder.

"We went through all the possible motives for the crime, but were unable to find anything. Akhtakhanov was not engaged in business, was not associated with the criminal world and had no conflicts," Izvestia reported, citing a source in law enforcement agency. "All the people who knew him spoke well about the deceased," the source added.

Besaev, on the contrary, had problems in business.

Investigators now believe that Akhtakhanov was killed accidentally and it was Besaev who was supposed to be killed last November. According to their version, the killer indicated the address of the "object" and was told to shoot the Chechen, and the killer mistakenly shot the poet. "We now have enough evidence to consider that in November 2011 there was a so-called error with the 'object,'" the source said.