The Interior Ministry says three criminals wanted by police in connection with the Danghara deadly incident have been killed.
A statement posted on the Interior Ministry’s website on July 30 says the wanted criminals have been found in the village of Osmondara and killed while resisting arrest.
Recall, four foreign cyclists, including two Americans, one national of Switzerland and one national of the Netherlands, were killed and three others injured during a bike tour in Danghara district on July 29 when a car hit them before fleeing the scene.
The incident took place at around 3:30 pm in the Sebiston jamoat, some 150 kilometers south of Dushanbe.
As a result of a special operation launched by the law enforcement authorities, one person was detained in connection with the deadly incident and one another suspect resisted arrest and was killed in the evening of July 29.
Three foreigners reportedly were killed at the scene and another died in hospital. Three other tourists sustained various injuries and received medical treatment in hospital.
Initial police accounts described the event as a traffic accident, although officials have since revealed that they are considering a range of possibilities, including murder, armed robbery and terrorism.
The Interior Ministry official indicated at a press conference in Dushanbe on July 30 that the collision may have been intentional and that at least one of the suspects attacked the travelers with a sharp object.
Meanwhile, head physician aft the Danghara central hospital, Khizmatullo Shamsov, noted that puncture wounds were on the bodies of the killed tourists. “Puncture wounds were also on bodies of two of three injured tourists,” Shamsov noted.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office has given this case under its control and the investigative group on this incident is led by Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon.
