Parliamentarian Tynychbek Akmatbaev, parliamentary staffer Talas Omorov, and the head of the penitentiary system Ikmatullo Polotov were on a tour inspecting the Novopokrovskaya prison colony #3 and the Moldovanovskaya colony #31 after reports of prison riots and murders. Negotiations with inmates of colony #3, who demanded better living conditions, were easily resolved. However, while visiting the colony #31, the inmates apparently attacked the inspectors killing Tynychbek Akmatbaev, Talas Omorov, and Akmatbaev’s bodyguard, and wounding Ikmatullo Polotov and Akmatbaev’s second bodyguard. The same day, Prime Minister Felix Kulov visited the colony to recover the corpses and wounded hostages. Ikmatulla Polotov died in hospital later on 27 October.

The next day, around 200-300 people, mainly sportsman-looking young men, gathered on the main square of Bishkek demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Felix Kulov. Tynychbek Akmatbaev’s brother, Rysbek, rumored to be a local mafia boss, lead the demonstrations and accused the Prime Minister of complicity with the murder and connections with Aziz Batukaev, a rival criminal authority, who is being held on criminal charges at colony #31. According to demonstrators, the Prime Minister could not have negotiated alone to recover the corpses without protection from within; otherwise, demonstrators argue, the inmates would have attacked the Prime Minister as well.

In response, Prime Minister Felix Kulov denied all charges, saying that he could not have met or talked to criminals because from 2000 to 2005 he was a political prisoner held in a separate prison. “I am ready to resign if they provide enough evidence of my involvement,” said the Prime Minister. Around 200 to 500 people also held a rally in support of Felix Kulov at central Alatoo Square for three days after Akmatbaev’s supporters moved to another location in front of the Parliament building.

President Kurmanbek Bakiev’s silence brought speculation that the president or his administration wanted to use Rysbek Akmatbaev and his supporters to bring down the Prime Minister or damage his rising popularity and charisma. Some journalists even embarked upon claims that Kulov is left alone, expressing doubt that the “tandem” between the president and the prime minister is functioning.

During a meeting between the president and foreign donors and investors, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Donald Lu said “nothing is more destructive for the trust of investors and donors than the realization that the government is closing its eyes to the activity of organized crime.” German Ambassador Frantz Eichinger voiced similar concerns at the meeting.

On 28 October, the Coalition For democracy and Civic Society, a non-governmental organization, organized a demonstration for political stability and against criminal groups’ political demands. From 1,000 to 1,500 people gathered with slogans saying “People are United Against Criminals,” “No Civil War,” “Do We Have a President?”. Edil Baysalov also added that he sees the demand for Kulov’s resignation as \"a challenge to the society, the nation, and the authorities; an attempt to show that the criminal world is going to govern the country.

Speculations abound regarding the motives for the murder. Many think it was mere a result of the rivalry between Aziz Batukaev and Rysbek Akmatbaev as the heads of the large criminal groups. Aziz Batukaev’s brother was killed in a criminal clash over territorial control in 2002. Others believe that a third party ordered the parliamentarian’s assassination in order to destabilize the situation in the country, while others suspiciously look to the government, with presumptions that it is cleaning the parliament from criminals.

Parliamentarian Bayaman Erkinabaev, a businessmen and alleged criminal leader, was killed a month earlier. Another parliamentarian, Jyrgalbek Surabaldiev, also an owner of big businesses in Bishkek, was shot dead in June 2005. Tynychbek Akmatbaev, who was elected to the Parliament in 2005, had been charged with complicity in murder, kidnapping, and for using forged documents in Kazakhstan. Nevertheless, he was freed in 2004 due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Meanwhile, court hearings are being held in Bishkek, in which Rysbek Akmatbaev is charged with the violation of 10 capital laws and cases, including the murder of police general Chyngyz Aliev, killed in November 2004.

On 27 October, the demonstrations organized by Rysbek Akmatbaev, who is believed to be taking the first steps to enter Kyrgyz politics, were temporarily suspended after a delegation of demonstrators, headed by human rights activist Topchubek Turgunaliev, father-in-law of the late Tynychbek Akmataliev, met with President Bakiev. However, the threat of a political crisis and criminal instability looms large of Kyrgyzstan in the aftermath of the ‘Tulip revolution’.