Police bullet that killed Georgi Bozhanov was a direct hit

The ballistic expertise concerning the shooting of 68-year-old Georgi Bozhanov confirmed his relatives\' allegations that the bullet fired by one the two policemen in the Dorkov village, near Velingrad, did not rebound, stated Plovdiv deputy regional prosecutor Col. Maxim Karadjov.

Georgi Bozhanov, who was shot on July 31 while he was picking mushrooms, died from a direct bullet hit in the head, according to the forensic medical expertise.

According to the official Ministry of Interior version, the bullet fired by the one of the two policemen, rebounded from a concrete column and only then hit the victim. Reportedly, the two policemen took the man in their car, but he died en route to the hospital. This version was also confirmed by Interior Minister Rumen Petkov and by the head of the district police directorate in Pazardjik commissioner Zhoro Stoitzev, who handed in his resignation because of the shooting. According to Stoitzev, the police shot at a concrete column 80 m from a mountain lodge, and the killed man was hit by a rebound bullet.

The policeman who fired the fatal shot will be charged with unpremeditated murder. The police have denied allegations that Bozhanov was beaten by the police. Another forensic medical expertise will be performed to verify the exact circumstances of the man\'s death.