Komnas HAM Asked To Take Over Case Of Destruction Of Ahmadiyah Mosque In West Kalimantan, Police Headquarters: Police Are Able To Handle

Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, Commissioner General Agus Andrianto/PHOTOS OF ANTARA DOC

JAKARTA - The National Police Headquarters has responded to a request by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to take over the case of the Ahmadiyah mosque vandalism in Sintang, West Kalimantan, to be taken over by the National Police Headquarters.

The Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, Commissioner General Agus Andrianto, emphasized that the West Kalimantan Police were able to handle it. The investigation and investigation process is underway.

"The (West Kalimantan) Regional Police are able to handle it. We provide assistance and if there is a request, we will definitely back up," Agus told reporters, Monday, September 6.

Separately, the Director of General Crimes at the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police Brigadier General Andi Rian said the West Kalimantan Police team had arrested several perpetrators. Currently, the criminal mastermind or the main perpetrator is being hunted down.

"The West Kalimantan Police Team is pursuing the intellectual actors of the incident," said Andi.

Previously, Komnas HAM) requested that the case of the destruction of the Ahmadiyah mosque in Sintang, West Kalimantan, be taken over by the National Police Headquarters. This is because the local police did not seem to have handled the vandalism to its full potential.

"We think now that the regional police there cannot do it optimally. So we ask the National Police Headquarters to intervene to take this case," said Komnas HAM Commissioner Choirul Anam.

The takeover of the vandalism case, he continued, also needs to be done to prevent similar vandalism from occurring. Anam then mentioned that cases like this usually have a high escalation and must be addressed immediately.

"So to prevent it from happening in other areas, in Kalimantan or in other places. Due to the typology with the previous case, it was exploded in one corner that was difficult to access and so on, spread through social media, eventually exploded in many places," he explained.

"Therefore, we encourage this case to be taken over by the National Police Headquarters to ensure that the same incident should not occur in Kalimantan or in all regions in the archipelago. That is important," Anam added.

Attacks and destruction of places of worship and buildings belonging to the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation (JAI) in West Kalimantan. A group of people using stones and bamboo damaged the mosque building located in Balai Gana Village, Temunuk District, Sintang Regency.

For this incident, the West Kalimantan Police and the Sintang Police have arrested 10 perpetrators who are suspected to be related and will be investigated further before being named suspects.