Police shoot dead suspect in councillor's abduction

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Majalengka, West Java

Majalengka Police in West Java shot dead on Wednesday a suspect accused of abducting and torturing local councillor Saleh Ali Idrus, 40, last year.

The abduction is believed to have been politically motivated as the incident followed the failure of the candidate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to win in the Nov. 5 election of the Majalengka regent.

The police said the suspect, Sukarjo, 37, alias Joker, a local resident from Jatisura village in Jatiwangi subdistrict, was killed as he tied to escape arrest.

Majalengka Police detectives chief Adj. Comr. Sukirman said Joker was among the seven suspects sought for his role in the kidnapping and vehicle thefts in south of West Java.

The police launched the search for Joker when they received a report on the abduction case on Nov. 9 last year, he added

"We have been looking for him since then. We received a tip- off that he was in Bandung, so we dispatched a team to arrest him. We finally apprehended him at his house in Bandung.

"But unfortunately, we had to shoot him as he resisted arrest and tried to escape. He died from gunshot wounds to the chest, head and abdomen," said Sukirman.

The police are still searching for Joker's six accomplices charged with abducting the PDI-P councillor on Nov. 9 from his house. A day later, Saleh was found, with bruises and other injuries, by the police in Kodasari village in Ligung subdistrict, Majalengka.

Earlier, candidates Sutrisno and Moch. Igbal, backed by the PDI-P and the United Development Party (PPP), lost in the regental election to Tuti Hayati Anwar and KH Ilyas Helmy who received support from the Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB).

The defeat of Sutrisno and his running mate aroused suspicions of disloyalty among the PDI-P with 16 members in the district legislative council and the PPP with seven members, because their votes were more than 50 percent of the 45 seats in there.

In the election, Sutrisno only won 21 votes, while his winning rival got 24 votes.

This caused speculation by PDI-P supporters that two of their members voted for the rival candidates, which later led to Saleh's abduction.