RBC: the deputy head of police for the Moscow Closed Administrative District resigned after the Golunov case

The deputy head of the internal affairs department for the Western District of Moscow, Colonel Igor Petukhov, submitted a report of dismissal after the criminal case of journalist Ivan Golunov, RBC reports , citing sources in the main department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to the publication, Petukhov submitted a letter of resignation due to length of service. Now the colonel is on leave, the order has not yet been signed.

Earlier, immediately after the termination of the journalist’s case on June 12, President Vladimir Putin fired the head of the drug control department, Yuri Devyatkin, and the chief of Petukhov, the head of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the ZAO Andrei Puchkov.

RBC's interlocutors said that Puchkov had already been fired from the internal affairs bodies due to his retirement. At first, the Moscow police union also said that the head of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the closed joint-stock company decided to retire, but later they began to deny this .

In addition, all the police officers who detained Golunov were suspended from work during the investigation. RBC's source also said that the head of the drug control unit of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the ZAO, Andrei Shchirov, who oversaw the detention of Golunov, “took all his things from his workplace last week.”

On June 6, employees of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the ZAO detained Meduza investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, accusing him of attempted drug trafficking. Five days later, after widespread public outcry and numerous actions of solidarity, the case against the journalist was dropped due to his non-involvement in the crime.

During the trial for choosing a preventive measure, Golunov said that the reason for his criminal case was an investigation into the funeral business.