Police Freeze 13 Clash Provocateurs in Kupang
Riot Between Residents in Kupang. © 2020 Merdeka.com/Anansias Petrus
The East Nusa Tenggara Regional Police (Polda NTT) said they had arrested a man with the initials US who was suspected of being the perpetrator of the torture that caused the victim named A to die, and led to the burning of seven houses in Tuapukan Village, Kupang Regency, Sunday afternoon.
"So there were two cases that resulted in clashes between families in Tuapukan village. The first was the body of the man with the initials A, found dead, then because he did not accept the victim's family then burned the US house that was suspected of being the perpetrator of the persecution which resulted in the victim's death," said Head of Public Relations of the NTT Regional Police, Kombes Pol Johannes Bangun told reporters in Kupang, as reported by Antara, Sunday (4/10) night.
He conveyed that the clash occurred between two groups of residents in Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday, which resulted in one person dying and six houses being burned.
He said that the perpetrator of the persecution was currently being examined along with three witnesses who knew the reason why A had died. Not only that, members of the East Nusa Tenggara Regional Police also arrested 13 people who provoked local residents to take retaliatory actions to burn houses in the area.
"We secured it along with a number of evidences ranging from machetes, knives, bows and several other pieces of evidence," he said.
Furthermore, the Head of the NTT Regional Police, Inspector General Lotharia Latif, has confirmed that he will take firm action against the perpetrators of the murder and the perpetrators of the provocation of cases of persecution and burning of six houses in the village.
"Mr Kapolda hopes that the community will entrust the case in Tuapukan Village to the NTT Regional Police and will be thoroughly investigated," he said.
Currently, the security situation at the exact moment of the incident has returned to being conducive and safe. The road that was previously closed by local residents has also been reopened, so that traffic activities are running normally again.
As many as 250 personnel from both the NTT Regional Police and the Kupang Police, he said, were currently at the scene of the incident to prevent further clashes in the area.