A Russian lawmaker has been arrested on murder charges while inside Russia’s upper house of parliament on Wednesday, state media report.

Rauf Arashukov is accused of being involved in the 2010 killing of two people and other crimes, said the Investigative Committee of Russia.

The senator for the North Caucasus republic of Karachay-Cherkessia was detained in a parliamentary session.

He has previously denied the accusations against him.

His parliamentary immunity has now been revoked, Ria Novosti news agency reports.

Investigators believe the 32-year-old senator is involved in two contract killings in Cherkessk, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Karachay-Cherkessia.