New joint military-police team formed to probe Binjai attacks
New joint military-police team formed to probe Binjai attacks
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Police and Military Police in North Sumatra have formed a joint
team to investigate the deadly attacks by members of the Army on
police stations in Binjai, a senior officer said on Tuesday.
Separate fact-finding teams from the Indonesian Military (TNI)
and National Police headquarters are already investigating the
incident that killed 11 people late last month.
North Sumatra Police chief detective Sr. Comr. Iskandar Hasan
said the teams were tasked with gathering information and
preliminary evidence on the attacks.
The joint provincial team would "back up the work" of the
other teams, he said without elaborating.
"The establishment of the new team is needed because the focus
of the investigation into the incident is in North Sumatra,"
Iskandar told The Jakarta Post at his office in the provincial
capital of Medan.
"In principle, the new team will work in the field to gather
evidence to find 'intellectual actors' behind the attacks in
Binjai."
It remains unclear whether the joint team will investigate the
incident's alleged links to the illegal drugs trade.
A group of soldiers from the airborne battalion attacked the
Langkat Police station and the Mobile Brigade headquarters on
Sept. 28 and Sept. 29.
The incident took place after police officers refused to
release a drug trafficker said to be backed by the soldiers.
Police said that during the attack 1.5 tons of marijuana, case
dossiers and other important documents disappeared.
A further 61 suspected criminals held in the Langkat police
station escaped.
Last week, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu
dishonorably discharged 20 soldiers in connection with the
attacks.
Iskandar said the decision to set up a local fact-finding team
was the outcome of a meeting between the North Sumatra Police and
provincial Military Police.
He said the new team, which consisted of dozens of senior
officers, began its task on Tuesday.
Police would collect evidence on the involvement of police
officers and civilians in the attack, while the Military Police
would probe the role of the Army in the incident, said Iskandar,
a co-chairman of the new team.