Police make key arrest, still hunting for Mahdi

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.