Karo Chief Prosecutor Dante Rajagukguk Officially Removed Following Amsal Sitepu Case

Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin has officially removed Dante Rajagukguk from his position as Head of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office. This rotation and mutation is contained in the Decree of the Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia Number 488 of 2026 dated 13 April 2026, confirmed by the Head of the Public Relations Centre for Law of the Attorney General’s Office, Anang Supriatna. In the decree, the Attorney General appointed Edmond Novvery Purba as the new Karo Chief Prosecutor. However, Rajagukguk’s new position after removal remains unknown. Besides Dante, Burhanuddin also rotated Harli Siregar, who previously served as North Sumatra Provincial Prosecutor, to become Inspector III at the Deputy Attorney General for Supervision of the Attorney General’s Office. Meanwhile, the position of North Sumatra Provincial Prosecutor will be filled by Muhibuddin, who previously served as West Sumatra Provincial Prosecutor. This removal was carried out by the Attorney General following the corruption case implicating videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu, which stirred public controversy. Prosecutors assessed that the proposal submitted by Amsal to village heads was not properly compiled and tended to be marked up. Additionally, the implementation of the work was deemed not in accordance with the Bill of Quantities (RAB). Each video project was reportedly set at a cost of Rp30 million per village. According to prosecutors, costs for ideas, editing, and dubbing the production of village profile videos were not charged. Meanwhile, the Panel of Judges at the Medan District Court acquitted Amsal Christy Sitepu of all charges brought by the prosecutors. The judges stated that Amsal was not proven guilty in a valid and convincing manner of committing the criminal offence as alleged by the public prosecutor, both in the primary and subsidiary charges. As a result of this case, the Attorney General’s Office examined a total of four prosecutors related to the case handling and allegations of threats. The four prosecutors are Karo Chief Prosecutor Dante Rajagukguk; Head of Special Crimes Section at Karo District Prosecutor’s Office, Reinhard Harve Sembiring; and two Sub-Section Heads at Karo District Prosecutor’s Office. Anang stated that through the examination, the supervisory team is investigating alleged procedural violations committed by the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office from the investigation stage to prosecution. “Overall handling. From the beginning to the end, including not only the handling from the initial investigation but also the prosecution as it is now,” he said. Nevertheless, Anang stated that mutations are a common occurrence in institutions or ministries. “Mutations are commonplace and continuously carried out by ministries/institutions, of course, involving mutations, promotions, and demotions. For Karo, Ms Dante was laterally mutated, meaning she is not in a structural position but in a functional position for now. And such things also commonly happen in ministries/institutions,” Anang said.