India, July 7 -- Russia's former transport minister Roman Starovoit was found dead in his car with a gunshot wound on Monday, just hours after President Vladimir Putin had dismissed him.

A spokesperson from Russia's Investigative Committee, as cited by state-run TASS news agency, said while officials are probing the scene to ascertain the cause of death, preliminary findings indicate that Starovoit died by suicide.

"Today, in the Odintsovo district [of Moscow]... Roman Vladimirovich Starovoit was found in his car with a gunshot wound," the spokesperson added.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hindustan Times....