Boyko Borissov not satisfied with police actions in the village of Katunitsa

I am not satisfied with the recent actions of the police in the village of Katunitsa because the situation there is out of control, announced yesterday Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on the occasion of the clashes that occurred there. Borissov stated that those responsible for the accident would receive the appropriate punishment. Until last night, a total of 127 people had been detained for rioting.

On September 23 in the village of Katunitsa (Plovdiv region) fightings continued all night. They were caused by the murder of 19 year-old boy, Angel Petrov, of Bulgarian origin who was crushed to death by a Ford Transit Minibus driven by Roma people. The automobile dragged the dead boy's body for more than 10 meters along the road. The murder, according to the local people, was commissioned by Kiril Rashkov, known as 'Tsar Kiro', because of an old enmity. This version of the story was also confirmed by relatives of the Roma Boss, who have been convicted illegal activities multiple times. The murder of the boy raised serious protests. The fighting between Bulgarians and Roma people mobilised dozens of police officers during the night, while on Sunday morning enraged villagers assaulted the mansions of Kiril Rashkov.

The football fans of the Plovdiv clubs "Botev" and "Locomotive", which joined the infuriated inhabitants of Katunitsa, set three of the real estates of Tsar Kiro on fire. One of them is owned by his deceased son Ivan Rashkov. The second property belongs to his other son Angel Rashkov and the third one is owned by his grandson Yorgo. The protesters threw stones at the mansions, as well as Molotov cocktails (or petrol bombs). Meanwhile, the police officers managed to push the protesters away and the firefighters extinguished the fires.

The other victims

The clashes in Katunitsa took a second victim. The 16-year-old Pavel, who joined the protest march to the Roma neighborhood, died in the emergency room of the University Hospital for Active Treatment "St. George" JSC, Plovdiv. On the way to Kiril Rashkov's mansions, the boy felt faint. The heart, transplanted to Pavel several years ago, failed to endure the tension. During the clashes between villagers and people close to Rashkov, other two Katunitsa residents and three police officers were hit by a car driven by a relative of Kiril Rashkov. Yesterday, Angel was buried and today was Pavel's funeral. Over 5,000 young people attended the laying at rest of the mortal remains of the 19 year-old boy at the cemetery of Katunitsa. Some 500 rockers arrived at the village yesterday to express their condolences to the boy's relatives. Besides, hundreds of citizens gathered to stage a protest meeting in Plovdiv.