Scientist who developed Russian vaccine 'Sputnik V' murdered, found dead in the apartment

Andrey Botikov, one of the scientists who developed Russia's anti-coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, was strangled to death with a belt at his residence here. Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder. This information has been given in a news in the Russian media. 

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. 

According to reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Botikov the Order of Merit for the Fatherland award in 2021 for his work on the Corona vaccine. As per the report, Botikov was one of the 18 scientists who developed the Sputnik V vaccine in 2020.

The committee probing the case said in a statement on Telegram that it would be investigated as a case of murder. The report said that according to investigators, the 29-year-old strangled Botikov with a belt during an argument and fled. According to the Federal Investigation Agency, that suspect has been arrested. 

According to the investigating agencies, this case has been kept in the category of domestic crime. During investigation, the accused has accepted his crime.