No evidence found in alleged shooting case
No evidence found in alleged shooting case
JAKARTA (JP): Police said yesterday that they had found no evidence that the damage to the windscreen and rear-view mirror of a vehicle whose owner, Moslem preacher Kyai Nur Muhammad Hasan, claimed it had been shot at last Thursday.
Moreover, the outspoken preacher himself told Tangerang police investigators on Sunday evening that he had not felt vibrations that might have been expected to result from gun shots, city police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said.
"Theoretically, things inside the car would also be damaged if bullets penetrated the windshield at close range," Iman said. "Police found neither damage to the interior of the preacher's car nor any bullets," he added.
Iman said, however, that investigations would continue. The police will soon submit the debris from the windscreen to the National Police Forensic Laboratory for further examination, he added.
The broken right-hand rear-view mirror has yet to be collected, Imam said, adding that it was still in the keeping of Nur's driver, Hashyim.
The preacher told the Tangerang police that the incident took place at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday evening on the Karawaci- Bitung toll road in West Java on Thursday evening.
The preacher was traveling with five other people in his Pajero vehicle when, suddenly, the vehicle was overtaken by a red sedan from the left-hand side, according to witnesses who had been in the Pajero. A few seconds later, Nur saw that the windscreen and rear-view mirror of his vehicle had been damaged, Iman said.
Early on Monday, Nur and members of his staff were quoted in the local media, including private TV stations, as saying that he and several of the people in the Pajero heard two gunshots before observing the damage to the Pajero windscreen and rear-view mirror.
Information
Based on the press information, the city police headquarters ordered the Tangerang police on Sunday evening to collect information from Nur, who is the head of the Ashidiqqiyah Moslem Boarding School near his home in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta.
Neither Nur nor any of the other passengers were hurt in the incident.
Nur is known for his outspokenness. In 1993 he appeared before the House of Representatives to appeal for the banning of the SDSB lottery on the basis that it was a form of gambling.
The chairman of the United Development Party, Ismail Hasan Metareum, said yesterday that the Moslem-based party is deeply concerned about the shooting.
"Shooting at a kyai (spiritual leader) is too much. We feel this hurts all of us. We hope the authorities conduct a thorough investigation of the case," Ismail said on leaving a party meeting.
Police were speculating yesterday that the damage to the rear- view mirror might have been caused by the Pajero's striking the barrier on the toll road's shoulder, Iman said. Such a bang might also explain the damage to the windscreen, he added.
The other possibility is that the windscreen was damaged by a flying stone, as frequently happened on the highway, the spokesman added.
Police found a hole with a diameter of two centimeters in the damaged windscreen. However, the nature of both the hole and the damage to the windscreen is quite different from what is normally caused by a gunshot, Iman said.
However, he said, "police have not yet reached a final conclusion."
According to Nur's assistant, Sarbini, two gunshots were fired by a group of men in a car who had been following the preacher's Pajero for a few minutes prior to the shooting.
One of the passengers of the passing car fired two shots at the Pajero has it passed, according to Sarbini. (bsr/anr)