Police in the Russian republic of Ingushetia arrested Friday, Oct 19, a top republic official suspected of killing a policeman, RIA Novosti reported citing a spokesman for the local Investigative Committee.

Khas-Magomed Bashirovich, a senior official in the administration of Ingush President Yunus-bek Yevkurov, was detained on suspicion of killing 28-year-old Zelimkhan Yevloyev, a local traffic policeman, near his home in the republic's capital of Magas on Thursday, the spokesman said.

Bashirovich was fired on Friday after his arrest.

Ingusehtia, in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region, is one of Russia’s poorest regions. The republic has also been plagued in recent years by a low-intensity Islamic insurgency that targets local security officials.