Police make key arrest, still hunting for Mahdi

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu

After a concerted manhunt, police officers arrested on Saturday outside of Palu, a key figure from the Mahdi sect, which recently made headlines after a deadly clash with police.

Lagu, alias Arifin, was charged with shooting and killing Palu policeman First Brig. Arwan Arsyad.

Lagu was the first prominent member of the religious group arrested after a botched arrest attempt on Tuesday sparked a bloody clash between a police unit of 16 men and several dozen sect members in an area called Gawalise, a mountainous region of the province outside of Palu. Three officers and two sect members died in Tuesday's battle, which began because the police were responding to local reports that the group was not fasting or doing their daily prayers -- both of which are obligatory for mainstream Muslims during Ramadhan.

The police have now arrested dozens of sect members and named eight of them suspects, although the sect leader, identified only as Mahdi (27), is still at large.

During the arrest of Lagu on Saturday morning in neighboring Donggala regency, the police seized a revolver and several bullets belonging to Adj. Comr. Imam, detik.com news portal reported. Imam was one of the three officers killed on Tuesday.

As of late Saturday, Lagu was being interrogated by detectives at the Central Sulawesi Police headquarters, said Adj. Sr. Comr. Andi Haryoto, who is with the provincial police's detective division.

Separately, Palu Mayor Rudy Mastura gave his full support to police for their stern treatment against the Mahdi sect. He also claimed that the group's leader had begun using "violent means" to propagate his beliefs; by forcing local residents to profess their allegiance to him, and if they refused to do so, Mahdi and his people would get violent with them.

Detectives are sill trying to find Mahdi, not only to question him about Tuesday's clash, but also for "spreading heretical Islamic beliefs".

Mahdi's dogma reportedly centers on his rejection of certain aspects of both Islam and Christianity. He preaches that sect members will be declared pure after they free themselves from Islamic and Christian practices such as fasting, going to church or doing regular prayers.