site.btaHaskovo Police Chief Comes Down over Handling of Missing Girl Case that Ended with Death

The head of the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry in the southern town of Haskovo, Ivan Rasokov, has come down under pressure over the handling of a missing girl case that ended with her death. Interior Minister Daniel Mitov said that he had personally requested and accepted Rasokov’s resignation. The Minister was speaking to journalists on Friday during his visit to the annual review of the Shumen Regional Directorate’s performance for 2024.

The reasons of Rasokov’s resignation are related to his statements concerning the case of the murder of 18-year-old Magdalena Ruseva from the town, whose body was found in an uninhabited property on April 30 after she reported missing since April 26. Rasokov initially stated that the investigation was proceeding under the theory that the girl had run away.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested as the perpetrator of the murder.

"First, I offer my condolences to the family of the murdered girl. Second, there is a narrative suggesting that if the Interior Ministry had acted faster, the girl would have been found alive. That version is false. Unfortunately, the murder happened in the early hours on April 26. The police received the signal at 8:00 p.m., by which time, sadly, the girl had already been killed. Officers of the regional directorate in Haskovo solved the case in three days by collecting all the necessary evidence so that the prosecution has all the tools to bring charges, to arrest the accused and can count on a serious result during the trial," Mitov said.

On Thursday, a protest took place in front of the Regional Police Station in Haskovo, where dozens of people gathered to demand the resignation of Rasokov. The protesters said the police had not taken sufficient action to trace the girl. Aggression ensued from mostly young people, some of them minors, who pelted the police station building with stones and broke some of the windows. Youths pulled down part of the gutters of the building and dumped them in front of the entrance to the police station. After the police officers dispersed the protesters late in the evening, Rasokov said he will hand his resignation after the Interior Minister has asked him to do so.

Mitov slammed the protest. "Despite the police having done their job, the situation was exploited for political speculation by those who persistently attack the image of the Interior Ministry. What we witnessed in Haskovo yesterday was vandalism. Protesters hurled objects at the building and even involved minors and underage children in acts of hooliganism. All individuals responsible for these actions will be identified, some already have been, and held accountable in accordance with the law, along with those who incited them," the Minister said.