Aftermath of Tasikmalaya Explosion: BNPT and Densus 88 Urged to Create Economic Integration Regulation for Ex-Terrorist Inmates
Head of the Criminology Programme at the Andi Sapada Institute, Tegar Bimantoro, has highlighted the case of a former terrorism convict, identified by the initial A, who allegedly detonated a street vendor’s stall in the Dadaha area of Tasikmalaya City. The incident, stemming from a dispute over a stall on Saturday night (11 July 2026), is seen as clear evidence of serious gaps in the post-release supervision and rehabilitation system.
Tegar stressed that the suspect’s possession of live ammunition raises a crucial question that law enforcement and relevant agencies must answer immediately.
“The fundamental question that must be explored now is where the suspect obtained the ammunition. Why was there a lapse in monitoring? The government must urgently carry out new mapping to detect how many ex-terrorism convicts are still out there with tactical capabilities and access to explosive materials,” said Tegar on Monday (13 July 2026).
Beyond the security aspect, Tegar assessed that the incident revealed the socio-economic roots of the problems faced by former convicts upon returning to society. The conflict on the ground broke out because of the government’s minimal presence in facilitating integration into decent employment.
Existing rehabilitation programmes, he argued, are not well connected to the realities of the labour market, creating a labour mismatch phenomenon.
“The government, through BNPT or Densus 88 Counter-terrorism, must produce new and innovative regulations to address this labour mismatch among ex-terrorism convicts. These new regulations must be able to accommodate and direct them into the right economic sectors, so they do not have to fight over jobs on the streets,” explained Tegar.
While encouraging new breakthroughs, Tegar reminded the government to be realistic about the availability of funds for rehabilitation and field supervision. Public safety, he argued, requires commensurate investment.
According to him, optimal monitoring of thousands of former terrorism convicts scattered across various regions is impossible if the relevant agencies are given only limited budgets.
“Monitoring thousands of ex-terrorism convicts across Indonesia with a minimal budget is impossible. If the government wants to create a genuinely safe environment, then the investment and budget allocated for surveillance and rehabilitation must also be substantial,” Tegar concluded.
Previously, a former terrorism convict with the initial A was suspected of detonating a trading stall during a dispute with fellow street vendors in the Dadaha area, Cihideung District, Tasikmalaya City, West Java, on Saturday night (11 July 2026).
The Tasikmalaya City Police, together with the Brimob team, subsequently processed the crime scene on Sunday (12 July 2026). Police secured items of evidence including metal materials, KCL fertiliser, aluminium powder, sulphur, cable installations and batteries, as well as a remote control device.
“After receiving a report from the public, we, together with Brimob, conducted sweeps and a series of investigations into the explosion incident,” said Tasikmalaya City Police Chief AKBP Andi Purwanto on Monday (13 July 2026).
Andi affirmed that the incident was a personal conflict unrelated to any terrorism network.
“We have also secured three people involved in the dispute. We are still conducting investigations into the matter,” Andi disclosed.
In addition to arresting the three people involved in the dispute, police also searched A’s house in Gunung Koneng Village, Cihideung District, Tasikmalaya City.
On Monday (13 July 2026), the Tasikmalaya City Police officially named A as a suspect. The suspect, AAS, was charged under articles on the misuse of sharp weapons, firearms and explosives, as set out in Article 306 or Article 308 of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code. The young man, who works as an iced tea seller, is now being held in a cell at the Tasikmalaya City Police headquarters.
“Regarding developments in the dispute that occurred in the Dadaha complex, we from the Tasikmalaya City Police, together with the General Crimes Directorate, have carried out investigative work and a series of activities, and we have held a case review. It has been agreed that we have named one suspect over yesterday’s incident,” Andi said.