Police arrest followers of religious sect
Police arrest followers of religious sect
JAKARTA (JP): A total of 27 followers of what the authorities call a deviant religious sect (aliran sesat) have been detained at the Bekasi military district headquarters on charges of planning to establish an Indonesian Islamic State (NII).
According to informed sources the 27 were captured by the Bekasi police Ambush Squad on Tuesday evening at a house they used for their clandestine meetings in Sarang village in Jatimulya subdistrict, Bekasi Timur.
Along with the 27 sectarians, the police confiscated pamphlets and books containing oaths as NII members and a flag.
The flag is similar to the one found in the mysterious package addressed to the U.S. ambassador on Tuesday. It has a white flower in the middle and is surrounded by red-and-white stripes.
The sources said that the group planned to replace the existing Pancasila philosophy with Islamic rules.
According to the sources, who asked not to be identified, the police missed dozens of group members who scattered when the authorities arrived on the scene.
After hours of interrogation at the Bekasi police precinct, all of the suspects were sent to the military district headquarters for further investigation.
The police have not yet announced the leader of the group but some newspapers reported yesterday that the leader, identified as Rus, 26, has not been arrested yet.
When contacted by The Jakarta Post yesterday, City Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. Didi Supandi confirmed reports over the detention of the sect members and said: "We're still examining the case."
Meanwhile Lt. Col. A. Latief Rabar, a spokesman for the City Police, which oversees Bekasi, said the group was politically motivated.
"It's not a pure crime, therefore the (Bekasi) police precinct transferred the handling of the case to the military district headquarters," Rabar told reporters yesterday.
The house, whose owner has not yet been identified, was rented by the group for five months.
During preliminary questioning at the police station, the 27 suspects admitted that they were discussing a picnic to Pangandaran, a famous tourist resort in West Java.
The 27 suspects, based on the results of the preliminary investigation on their domiciles and identities, come from North and East Jakarta, Tangerang and Bekasi. (bsr)