Uchtepa fire turns out to be an intentional murder: case opened under Article 97 of the Criminal Code

Uchtepa fire reclassified as murder

The woman who died in a fire in an apartment in the Uchtepa district of Tashkent was killed intentionally. This was reported to media outlets by the press secretary of the Prosecutor General's Office, Khayot Shamsutdinov; the report is published by Zamon.uz citing his comment, similar information is given by Gazeta.uz, while UzNews.uz quotes the Prosecutor General's Office.

What is known about the incident

The fire broke out overnight on October 24, 2026, in an apartment in a residential complex on Yusuf Sakkokiy Street. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the fire started at around 02:00; earlier, the capital's fire safety department reported a fire at 01:33, which was extinguished, after which the body of one person was found at the scene — Gazeta.uz refers to this initial report. The victim turned out to be a woman born in 2000, aged 26, who lived in the apartment. Her body showed thermal injuries from the shoulder area down to the thighs and legs.

Signs of arson and the course of the investigation

The key fact that changed the classification of the incident: during the inspection, three unrelated fire origins were discovered — in the kitchen, the bedroom and the living room — as well as signs of deliberate arson. On October 24, the Uchtepa district prosecutor's office opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 97 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan — intentional murder. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, initial investigative actions are underway; results and additional information are promised to be announced later. No suspects have been named and the circumstances of the death have not yet been disclosed.