Three Russian police officers suspected of beating a man to death in Moscow were dismissed on Tuesday along with their commander, a police spokesman said.
The attack took place in the southeast of the Russian capital late on Monday, and Moscow Police Chief Maj.-Gen. Vladimir Kolokoltsev relieved the four officers of their duties on Tuesday morning.
Viktor Biryukov, a Moscow police spokesman, said criminal proceedings had been initiated against one of the three policemen, Anver Ibragimov, 22, who is accused of beating two Abkhazians.
The body of one of the two Abkhazians was found near a drugstore on Zelenodolskaya Street at about 11:00 p.m. (20:00 GMT) on Monday.
"A conflict broke out between two men and three men in police uniforms at the McDonald's near the Kuzminki metro station," Biryukov said, adding that Eduard Gurtskoi died before an ambulance arrived at the scene.
All those involved in the incident were drunk at the time. The three officers all joined the force last year and were still undergoing training, Biryukov said.
Kolokoltsev was only appointed Moscow police chief in September. His predecessor was dismissed after a senior officer killed three and wounded six in a shooting spree in southern Moscow in late April.
Police corruption has long been a concern in Russia, and the issue was highlighted earlier this month when an officer in southern Russia posted a video on the internet accusing his superiors of corruption.
Maj. Alexei Dymovsky was dismissed after a Novorossiisk police department investigation found his claims to be groundless, but his statement - directed at Prime Minister Vladimir Putin - prompted several other law enforcement personnel across Russia to make similar claims.
In late October, the interior minister of the Russian republic of Tuva, Maj. Gen. Viktor Lesnyak, was dismissed after a drunk police officer in the city of Kyzyl shot dead a traffic policeman, wounded another officer and then killed himself.
MOSCOW, November 24 (RIA Novosti)
