Police identify killer in East Java's PKB murder
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After months of investigation, the East Java Police are closing in on the suspected murderers of National Awakening Party (PKB) member Asmuni in Lumajang, East Java, with one suspect being identified.
"After analyzing all the evidence and questioning three suspects and 61 witnesses, we have been able to identify the characteristics of one of the killers," said National Police deputy chief of public relations Brig. Gen. Soenarko.
He named the suspect as Lora Ansori from Yosarati village in Jember, East Java. He is 30 years old and has a round face and long hair.
"We suspect him of killing Asmuni in November in Lumajang," Soenarko said on Tuesday.
Police also arrested, on Saturday and Sunday, three people suspected of helping the killers. The three have been identified only by their initials: AG in Surabaya and SY and IS in Jember. Eyewitnesses said six people entered Asmuni's house.
Soenarko said police had identified Lora Ansori as one of the six men seen at the scene of the murder and expressed hope that the police would capture him shortly so that light could be shed on the motive.
"We put the name of this man on our wanted list today. We are still trying to identify the other five people. If we manage to capture Lora Ansori, we can quickly arrest the others," said Soenarko.
The police earlier detained two other suspects and questioned 61 witnesses in connection to the case.
Six masked men armed with machetes hacked the cleric Asmuni to death after they broke into his house in Jatiroto subdistrict on Nov. 27. His wife, Siti Mutmainah, survived but was seriously wounded in the attack. She remains in hospital.
PKB executives believe the incident was politically motivated to terrorize party members in East Java, its main stronghold, ahead of the 2004 general election.
The claim has been supported by reports that PKB clerics in several regencies in East Java, including Gresik and Jember, had received death threats from mysterious callers.
However, police have said Asmuni's murder was not politically motivated, even though they are still investigating the case.
Soenarko also underlined that the case was a criminal one, but the police are still trying to figure out the motive of the murderer.
"The police consider this a criminal case. What makes a case different is motive. Since we haven't captured the suspects we still have to view this case as a pure criminal case, not a political one," said Soenarko.
However, he reiterated the police's promise to solve the case as quickly as possible because much progress had been made over the past two weeks.