"We were waiting for the meat to be loaded": what is known about the possible involvement of the deputy of the State Duma Rashkin in illegal hunting

In the Saratov region, a criminal case was initiated under Art.

258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Illegal hunting"), in which State Duma deputy Valery Rashkin may be involved.

Due to the great public outcry, the investigation was transferred to the regional department of the Investigative Committee of Russia.

According to the materials of the case, on the night of October 29, in an open area several kilometers from the village of Lysye Gory, "illegal hunting" of wild elk was carried out.

“Investigators of the Investigative Committee, together with the police officers, are carrying out a set of investigative actions and operational-search measures aimed at identifying the persons involved in the commission of this illegal act.

The involvement of the deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Valery Rashkin in the incident is being verified, ”the press service of the regional department of the UK said.

Initially, the case of illegal hunting was opened by the Saratov police after finding in the car a part of an elk carcass, an ax and two knives.

The on-duty department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the region said that the police received a message about shots in the Lysogorsk region, after which a district police officer and a representative of the hunting and fishing committee went to the scene.

On the spot, they found a car driven by a man born in 1955.

His identity was not specified in the press release.

“While inspecting the car, the police found fragments of an elk carcass, as well as an ax and two knives with traces of blood.

The man who drove the car explained that they, together with a comrade who was in the car as a passenger, noticed the carcass of a shot animal, after which they decided to butcher it, ”the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement.

The department explained that the driver was asked to undergo a medical examination for the presence of alcoholic intoxication, but he refused, in connection with which a protocol was drawn up on an administrative offense, in accordance with Art.

12.26 of the Administrative Code.

In parallel with this, it became known that the Committee for Hunting and Fisheries of the Saratov Region filed a complaint with the police against the deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Valery Rashkin, on suspicion of illegal hunting.

“On the territory of the hunting grounds of the Saratov regional society of hunters and fishermen at about 23:00 (October 28) shots from hunting weapons were heard.

The inspectors and the police drove in the direction of the shots and found a car in which there were two people, one of whom was Rashkin Valery Fedorovich, ”TASS quoted the committee as saying.

It was reported that the skin, legs and head of a butchered animal were found 40 meters from the car.

At the same time, the committee stressed that the people in the car did not give permission to take the animal.

The message says that when asked about the origin of the moose carcass in the car, Rashkin said that he had found it while walking through the forest and "decided to take it home."

A RT source in the district Society of Hunters and Fishermen told the details of the incident.

“They loaded the meat and began to leave.

They were not allowed to leave: the police officers blocked them with a UAZ.

Rashkin was driving.

We were waiting for them to load the meat into the car - they would load a criminal article for themselves.

We watched with a thermal imager where they were loading, in which car, and this particular car was accepted, ”the source said.

Also on russian.rt.com The plenum of the Saratov regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation interrupted work due to reports of the arrest of Rashkin

According to him, the shot was fired at about 22:00, and at 02:00 the violators were already detained.

At this point, the weapon from which the moose could be killed was not found with them, presumably because it could have been taken away in advance.

“At night, when Matrosov's car was leaving (a farmer, an acquaintance of Rashkin's -

), we did not stop it so as not to frighten her off.

They waited for the meat to be loaded - the most important piece of evidence, ”the source said.

As the interlocutor of RT explained, the moose carcass was taken to the laboratory to establish the cause of death.

“That it was not a car that killed him, that he was really shot with a hunting weapon,” he added, explaining that now hunting for elk is prohibited on the farm because of their small number.

At the same time, he claims that Rashkin and his acquaintances have allegedly been hunting in the area for several years.

Viktor Burlachenko, a specialist expert of the control and supervision department of the regional committee for hunting and fishing, in an interview with RT, said that he did not know whether hunting was legal in the territory where the State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was detained.

At the same time, a source in the Society of Hunters and Fishermen of the Lysogorsky District said that Burlachenko is a close friend of Rashkin and often drank with the deputy, so he could cover his illegal hunt.

“There is an investigation, it’s all unprovable, who killed whom.

I didn’t expose anyone, no one knows anything, legally, illegally, while no one can say anything, ”Burlachenko, who is being referred to as a victim in the case, told RT.

The situation was commented on in the Kremlin.

“We've seen media reports.

Our law enforcement officers and, most importantly, the environmental department must come to appropriate conclusions, and then it is not our prerogative.

This is the prerogative of the ethics committee of the State Duma and the hunter himself, "- said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov in an interview with reporters.

The State Duma said that the issue of Rashkin's parliamentary immunity can be considered only if the Prosecutor General turns to the Speaker of the Duma with an appropriate submission.

“No one can initiate a criminal case against Rashkin without the consent of the Duma.

If there is a request from the Prosecutor General's Office in this regard, an appeal addressed to the Speaker of the State Duma, then our commission, taking into account the fact that mandate issues are within its competence, will investigate this case, ”Otari Arshba, head of the Duma Commission on Mandate Issues, quotes TASS.

He explained that only the Prosecutor General can apply to the Duma with a request to partially withdraw the immunity of a deputy in order to conduct investigative actions.

If this procedure is passed, parliamentarians should consider this appeal.

If the deputies consider the arguments of the Prosecutor General's Office sufficient, they will give permission to conduct investigative actions.

Arshba explained that if the data on the crime is confirmed, the prosecutor will again apply to parliament with a request to deprive the deputy of immunity and mandate in order to bring charges.

“But this is still far away,” said Arshba.

In the Communist Party, the situation was called "a grand provocation."

According to the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, State Duma deputy Sergei Obukhov, we are talking about the illegal detention of the deputy.

“From what has been published by some sources, it is clear - the protocol of the examination without witnesses.

It is clear that this is a filkin letter.

There is some kind of video evidence - whether it is an actor, or whether it is Rashkin, we cannot understand until there is some connection with him, "RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.