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)