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Policeman Slain Who Was Investigating Fuel Theft

Kemerovo region police said Wednesday that an officer in their economic security department was brutally murdered overnight.

A source in the local police told Interfax that the officer was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds and that he had been investigating fuel thefts in the Siberian town of Mezhdurechensk at the time.

"Gunshot wounds to the head and back were discovered on the body of the victim, as well as cuts to the neck and face," the source said, adding that the officer was likely attacked with a broken bottle and his head beaten against the asphalt several times.

Local police later said the attack on the murdered officer had nothing to do with his work, claiming he was due to be fired later in the week and that an eyewitness had come forward saying jealousy was at the root of the crime.

"The murder was preceded by a fight between the deceased and another man. The fight was over a woman," police said, Interfax reported.

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