MOSCOW. Nov 16 (Interfax) - The masterminds of Russian Army Colonel Yury Budanov's murder could be involved in the killing of Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov, a law enforcement source told Interfax on Wednesday.
"The style of the crime is similar in many details to the Budanov murder scenario, which suggests the same persons could be behind these two crimes," the source said.
"This circumstance is currently being actively probed by a team of investigators as one of the theories behind the poet's murder," he said.
"In both cases, the criminal acted according to the same scheme: the attack occurred in a well-lit public place, practically, in the center of the city, the victim was shot several times, including in the head, and the getaway methods are also identical with subsequent destruction of the (getaway) car," the source said.
"In both cases, an Izh weapon was used, and getaway cars had license plates that were previously stolen from same-brand cars," he said.
Famous Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov was killed last night outside of house number two on Begovaya Street. The killers shot twice from an Izh pistol, as Akhtakhanov was getting out his car and heading home. The assailants got away in a Ford Focus, which was later burnt down.
Two criminal cases have been launched on the charges of murder and illegal arms trafficking.
Budanov was shot dead on Komsomolsky Prospekt in Moscow on June 10, 2011. His murder suspect, Chechen native Magomed Suleimanov, was arrested in late August. The man is being charged with murder and unlawful possession of a firearm.