Police claim Ciamis killings have black magic link
Police claim Ciamis killings have black magic link
JAKARTA (JP): Police alleged here on Tuesday that 18 people
believed murdered in a killing spree in the West Java regency of
Ciamis were involved in black magic.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar M. Sianipar
announced a preliminary investigation showed motivation for the
acts was driven by personal vengeance of several people against
the victims' dabbling in black magic.
He said the people paid locals to carry out the killings in a
scheme which resembled the slaying of 200 people, mostly Muslim
clerics, in Banyuwangi and other East Java towns last year.
Parigi and Pangandaran districts of Ciamis were shocked on
April 10 when six bodies were found, including three bundled
inside a sack, floating in Ciwayang River in Pangandaran.
On Monday, police in the West Java capital of Bandung
announced their findings to the media.
Based on information from locals, they believed at least 18
people recently reported missing had been killed.
Togar confirmed an earlier report that 34 suspects were being
questioned by the police.
He also said the police's preliminary analysis showed the
killers targeted male villagers aged between 50 and 80.
The independent Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras) said on Monday here at least 50 people were
killed in Ciamis.
But Togar said: "Not all the victims in Ciamis were related to
this case (of hired killers)."
West Java Military Commander Maj. Gen. Purwadi said Kontras
should present their facts to the police.
Asked about similarities with the Banyuwangi killing, Purwadi
said it would be premature to assume the same motives were
involved.
"Killings of black magic practitioners have taken place for
quite a long time, not only during this reform era," he said.
"It's just that people now easily take the law into their own
hands."
Purwadi also said it was too early to pin the killings to
political motives.
A report on Monday said that one of the detained suspects
admitted to the police to having been paid from Rp 50,000 to Rp
500,000 (about US$58) for the killings.
Togar also discussed the approach used in the Ciamis killings.
The killers first spread slander in the community about their
targeted victims before kidnapping and killing them. They then
disposed of the bodies.
Togar said none of the people found were linked to any Muslim
organizations or parties, dismissing brewing speculation those
murdered were loyalists of certain Muslim parties. (emf/43/aan)