Sukabumi Police Handles Gunung Jayanti Fire Case

TNI personnel while inspecting the location of the Mount Jayanti fire in Jayanti Village, Palabuhanratu District, Sukabumi Regency, West Java. Between/Aditya Rohman

SUKABUMI - Sukabumi Resort Police, West Java, developed a case of forest fires in Mount Jayanti, on Friday (22/9) by summoning a number of witnesses starting to cultivate land, residents, and security officers from the Palabuhanratu Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

"We have asked for information from a number of witnesses to uncover the case of the Mount Jayanti forest fire in Batuapi Village, Jayanti Village, Palabuhanratu District," said Sukabumi Police Chief AKBP Maruly Pardede, quoted by ANTARA, Monday, September 25.

According to information gathered from the police, the Mount Jayanti fire began with reports from the community regarding the fire belonging to PT Wika's land on Friday (22/9) at around 16.15 WIB around Batuapi Village.

Based on the testimony of witnesses, the forest fire of Mount Jayanti is thought to have originated from the land owned by PT WIKA which was cultivated by the community. In addition, witnesses strengthened that the cultivated land was often found which was burned but with a small fire and could be extinguished by some cultivators on the land.

In fact, he said, not only burned forests. As a result of the fire, the fire had spread to the Tamansari Palabuhanratu Housing, but was successfully extinguished. The fire that spread to the forest of Mount Jayanti grew and could only be extinguished on Saturday (24/9).

According to Maruly, his party received information that there were residents working on land around Mount Jayanti which was adjacent to the Palabuhanratu BMKG allegedly had cleared the land by burning the cultivated land.

"Kam is still searching for people who cleared the land by burning. According to information from witnesses who saw that there were cultivators who were clearing land by burning," he added.

Maruly said that his party had given instructions to the Sukabumi Police Criminal Investigation Unit to uncover cases of forest fires that were suspected to be the cause of the clearing of the cultivated land by cultivators by burning grass so that the fire spread to Mount Jayanti.