Police detective chief replaced
Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Adang Rochjana was replaced as chief detective of the Jakarta Police on Friday, a week after his success in arresting fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.
The senior commander was glassy-eyed as he talked to reporters after the hand-over ceremony, "You can tell from the way I look how I feel. With Tommy's arrest, I can leave my post with relief and I can only hope the next stage of the process will be as thorough as what my team has done."
Adang held the post of city police detective chief for less than a year, after replacing Sr. Comr. Harry Montolalu in April.
He is to take up a new post as deputy chairman of the National Police's air and water directorate, which is not considered a particularly high-profile division.
While saying that the period of time Adang had spent in the position represented a normal tour of duty and that his transfer had been scheduled long before Tommy was arrested, city police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb added that he had received the instruction to implement the transfer only on Wednesday.
He quickly denied there was any bickering behind the decision.
"Being replaced is a normal thing. Don't speculate about such matters," he said, adding Adang's new post was a promotion.
Adang's successor, Sr. Comr. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, was previously the detective chief for the Surabaya Police.
Newly installed National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar has reportedly tasked Bambang to focus on drug-related crimes and also to make the questioning of Tommy a priority.
"The new police detective chief has been tasked with changing the image of Kampung Bali (in Tanah Abang district). It's like the assignment to convert the formerly red-light district Kramat Tunggak into an Islamic center," Sofjan told reporters.
On top of Friday's hand over ceremony, Sofjan also installed Sr. Comr. Robby Tasmaaya as chief of the city police traffic directorate, replacing Sr. Comr. Utjin Sudiana, and Sr. Comr. I Ketut Ardaya as chief of the logistics directorate, replacing Sr. Comr. Alex Barus.