Russian police say skinheads not involved in Kostroma incident

Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow
24 Apr 04

[Presenter] Skinheads have nothing to do with the incident involving
an Armenian boy in Kostroma. Let us recall that several media reports
earlier this week [22 April] said that the boy had been allegedly
attacked by skinheads. An investigation carried out by the Kostroma
police has shown that this was not the case. So the police say. Yuliya
Kosilova has the details.

[Correspondent] The boy sustained injury over a routine prank and
street roughs have nothing to do with that, the Kostroma police said
following the investigation. In reality this is what has
happened. Several teenagers, the Armenian boy among them, decided to
make a bonfire right in the street. Having done so, one of them poured
gasoline onto the fire. Burning splashes hit the Armenian boy’s
clothes and, as a result, he was slightly burnt.

The teenagers obviously got frightened and decided not to tell
grownups about this. That is why they invented the story about the
attack. The deceit was uncovered few days later, after the parents of
the victim went to doctors. Doctors, in their turn, reported the
accident to police. The police started the investigation. The victim
became nervous and came clean.

[Presenter] Earlier, the boy explained his burns by skinheads
splashing some petrol over him and setting him on fire.