Poso Police chief replaced after attack

Eva Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Poso Police chief was removed from his post on Thursday following the beheading of three schoolgirls and the shooting of two others in the regency recently.

Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Sholeh Hidayat handed over the reins on Thursday to Adj. Sr. Comr. Rudy Supahriadi, who previously served as deputy chief of the bomb squad at National Police Headquarters. It was unclear where Sholeh will be posted following his replacement.

The handover ceremony was held at Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters and was presided over by Central Sulawesi Police chief Sr. Comr. Oegroseno.

In his speech, Oegroseno denied the replacement had anything to do with the two incidents.

"The replacement is nothing more than a regular change of guard," Oegroseno was quoted as saying by Antara.

National Police chief Gen. Sutanto met with local religious figures shortly after the beheadings of three Christian girls. The religious leaders had demanded a reshuffle of the police leadership in the area.

Sholeh, who only assumed his post six months ago, lost his job only two days after an unknown assailant shot a Muslim girl and a Christian girl on Tuesday night.

In this latest incident, the two girls were sitting in front of a house here when the man fired on them before fleeing as a pillion passenger on a motorcycle. The two were seriously wounded and are now being treated in a Poso hospital. The attacks are similar to other shootings in the province over recent years.

The Army arrested and are questioning a man believed to be the shooter's driver. The gunman is still at large.

Two weeks ago, a group of five men beheaded three Christian girls in the Bukit Bambu area, sparking a national outcry. Many feared it would spark renewed sectarian disturbances in the volatile regency.

Poso turned into a battleground between Muslims and Christians in 2000, with more than 2,000 people thought to have lost their lives and hundreds of buildings destroyed.

Separately in Jakarta, national police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko confirmed the replacement, saying that it had been planned some time ago.

Meanwhile, National Police Headquarters spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Budihardjo told reporters that police investigating the Poso shooting had recovered a number of spent bullets from a 38- mm revolver. The police had also found six live bullets and a jacket left at the scene of the crime.