Airbase employee, soldier shot in police operation
Airbase employee, soldier shot in police operation
JAKARTA (JP): Depok police shot dead a 54-year-old man and
injured another in a routine midnight street operation in Tonjong
subdistrict of Bojong Gede early yesterday.
The dead victim was later identified as Madjid, 54, a civil
servant at the local air base in Semplak Barat, and the injured
person was a chief private from the Bogor-based Kujang infantry
brigade, an officer said.
Madjid was shot in the head, stomach, right arm and leg.
The soldier suffered wounds in a hip and is being treated at
the police hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.
All the police officers are being questioned by Jakarta Police
Internal Affairs officers, who also supervise the Bogor Police.
According to Second Lt. Sugeng H of the Internal Affairs unit,
the preliminary investigation revealed that Madjid, a grandfather
of two, left his house at Kampung Lumbung shortly after midnight
with two of his friends, including the soldier.
They then hired a public transportation minivan.
"Their destination is still unclear," Sugeng said.
In Tonjong the vehicle stalled so four people, including the
driver and conductor, tried to restart the engine by pushing the
minivan from behind.
The soldier, who was not in uniform, sat behind the steering
wheel, he said.
"The six patrolling officers then arrived at the scene, asking
the five what was going on," Sugeng explained.
They told the officers, who were all armed with rifles, that
the minivan had broken down and they were trying to restart the
engine.
When the officers asked the minivan driver to show the vehicle
documents, the latter failed to show proper papers, Sugeng said.
They were then ordered to give a further explanation at the
Depok Police station.
"Shortly after the officers asked the five people to accompany
them, the engine suddenly started and the five people tried to
escape," Sugeng said.
After firing several warning shots in the air, the police
officers aimed their guns at Madjid, who by then had got back
into the minivan, and the person behind the steering wheel, he
said.
Madjid's other companion managed to escape, while the driver
and conductor were dragged off to the Depok Police station for
further questioning. he said.
"The police officers would not have opened fire unless the
people had done something wrong or resisted arrest," Sugeng
argued.
According to one of Madjid's sons, who refused to be named,
his father's companion who managed to escape turned up at the
family's house at about 4 a.m., a few hours after the shooting.
The man, who remained anonymous, dropped by at the house to
hand over Madjid's cap that was covered in blood.
Sugeng said Depok and Jakarta police are still compiling data
to piece together the truth behind the incident. (ivy)