Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Video Credit: CEN/@grozny.tv

The second cousin of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is being investigated after a video of him allegedly using a taser on an old lady appeared online.

In 2012, Islam Kadyrov was Russia’s youngest ever mayor when he took the seat for the city of Grozny in the south-western Russian republic of Chechnya at the age of 25.

He left the mayoral seat in 2015 and has since held a key position with the local police, according to reports.

After footage surfaced of him zapping elderly residents with an electroshock device, Kadyrov has claimed that he only used it on people who he believed were involved in fraudulent activities, according to local media.

The 32-year-old official is also of accused of being abusive to residents who fail to pay their utility bills on time.

According to local media, Kadyrov also accused people of sponsoring terrorism while brandishing his zapper at them.

He is the second cousin of 43-year-old Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic and a former member of the Chechen independence movement.

Kadyrov’s spokesperson Alvi Kerimov said that such behaviour is unacceptable, even for an official who has done so much good work for the city of Grozny.

Kerimov added that he was probably influenced by drugs he has been taking since being involved in a car accident.

According to reports, Islam Kadyrov has been removed from his position with the local police and is currently being investigated by the authorities.

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