Grenade explosion kills one on new year's day
Grenade explosion kills one on new year's day
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Just hours after fireworks were set off marking the coming of the
year 2002, a hand grenade exploded in front of Ayam Goreng
Bulungan restaurant in Blok M, South Jakarta at 3:30 a.m. on
Tuesday, causing a man to lose his right hand and suffer severe
injuries to his right leg.
The victim, Hasibullah, 25, was rushed to Pertamina Hospital's
intensive care unit with hand and leg injuries, but died three
hours later due to bleeding.
The blast also lightly hurt restaurant employee Sugiyanto, 20,
and shattered the windows of a truck parked nearby.
Witnesses said an unidentified man attempted to escape right
after the explosion, shouting repeatedly, "It's not me". He was
caught by local residents, but was later released him as the
people in the restaurant were too busy attending to the injured.
Minutes after the blast, a bomb squad cordoned off the area
and combed the restaurant for possible explosives.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara said the
grenade was a hand grenade type K-75, better known as Granat
Manggis, citing the results of police forensic laboratory
investigation.
Asked if the Aceh-born Hasibullah was linked to radical groups
in conflict-torn Aceh, Makbul said he did not want to speculate.
"It's too early to make any conclusion as we are still
questioning witnesses," he said.
South Jakarta Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdul Rahman said
his detectives were hunting down the unidentified escapee
believed to be Hasibullah's accomplice.
The blast surprised many people who earlier thought that there
would be no bomb attacks during the New Year festivities, citing
the secure situation at churches in Jakarta during the 2001
Christmas celebrations.
On Christmas Eve last week, a low explosive homemade bomb
exploded on the roof of a house belonging to pensioner Suhandi M.
Harun in Pancoran, South Jakarta, which the police believed was
linked to three explosions on June 19, 2001 in a boarding house
located in front of the house due to the similar type of bomb.
A string of bomb attacks on several churches across the
capital in 2000 discouraged many Jakarta residents from
celebrating New Year's Eve outdoors.