Blora Police examine 15 witnesses in case of assault on two officers

Blora, Central Java (ANTARA) - The Blora Police have examined 15 witnesses in the investigation into the assault of two Ngawen Police officers while securing a carnival for the 79th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia.

“The examination of 15 witnesses related to the assault case involving police officers on duty in Rowobungkul Village, Ngawen District, Blora, is intended to deepen the chronology of the incident and the role of each party,” said Blora Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head AKP Zaenul Arifin in Blora on Saturday.

Zaenul said the number of witnesses examined had increased from the previous 11. Investigators are still gathering statements to clarify the sequence of events and confirm the role of each party in the disturbance.

According to him, the witnesses examined include the victims, Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) officers who were on duty, and residents whose statements relate to a video of about 50 seconds in duration that circulated.

The examination was carried out after investigators named three people as suspects and detained them in the case.

Zaenul said the disturbance began with mutual taunting among carnival participants, which then developed into a fight between residents of Tembang Hamlet and Randualas Hamlet.

Police officers at the scene then attempted to intervene and secure the situation. However, two Ngawen Police officers became targets of assault while trying to stop the fight.

“The officers intervened, but were instead pushed until they fell, and were struck and injured,” he said.

The two officers are Aipda MS and Aiptu SP. Both suffered injuries and received treatment at the Rowobungkul Community Health Centre.

Aipda MS suffered bruises on the forehead, nose and left knee. Meanwhile, Aiptu SP suffered a laceration on the top of the head, a lump on the head, as well as bruises and a lump on the forehead.

In handling the case, police previously detained 11 people for questioning.

After examining witnesses and collecting evidence, investigators named three people as suspects and detained them. The three, with the initials SJ, NR and BD, are residents of Blora Regency.

Security for the village-level carnival involved combined personnel from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), Satpol PP and community protection units (Linmas).