Top police officer sacked after attack over KPUD building
Top police officer sacked after attack over KPUD building
Apriadi Gunawan
The Jakarta Post/Medan
The Central Tapanuli Police chief was removed from his post on
Wednesday following an arson attack on the regional General
Elections Commission (KPUD) office two weeks ago.
However, North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Iwan
Pandjiwinata denied the replacement of Adj. Sr. C.B.S Nasution
was linked to the attack saying it was a routine replacement.
"The replacement was arranged long before the Idul Fitri
holiday, and has nothing to do with the attack," the two-star
general said after leading the handover ceremony on Wednesday at
the North Sumatra Police Headquarters.
In the closed-door ceremony, Iwan installed new chief Adj. Sr.
Comr. Yasdan Rifai, who replaced Nusution. Yasdan was earlier
Mandailing Natal Police chief.
Nasution who assumed his post at Central Tapanuli just six
months ago, will be transferred to a non-commissioned job at the
North Sumatra headquarters.
Asked by reporters about probe into the recent KPU attack,
Iwan said police were still working on the case. They had
arrested four people believed to have instigated the attack and
they were still being questioned, he said. Police were still
searching for eight other suspects.
Observers had earlier criticized the police for not acting
quickly to stop the attack on the office.
The attack on the KPUD office in Pandan district, Central
Tapanuli regency, took place on Oct. 29.
The incident occurred after the office rejected the candidacy
of Roslila Sitompul as Central Tapanuli regent in regional
elections to be held in January next year.
Roslila, who was running for the election on the Golkar Party
ticket, was barred by the KPUD from contesting the election on
suspicion of forging her high school diploma.
The supporters of Roslila protested the decision and went on a
rampage. They set fire at the KPUD office and razed the building.
Protesters accused the KPU members of siding with Tuani Lumban
Tobing, Roslila's rival.
Similar unrest over candidate nominations and election results
has occurred in Bengkulu province few moths ago.
The country is in the early stages of conducting direct
regional elections, which will continue until the end of next
year. The first took place in Kutai Kartanegara regency, East
Kalimantan, in June.