Crowd sets fire to BPS office in Papua

Kompas.comJAYAPURA: A reported arson attack gutted the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) office in Karubaga, Tolikara, Papua, on Wednesday.

The perpetrators were alleged to be supporters of a candidate contesting the local election.

Papua BPS head Djarot Sutanto said the office caught fire at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The fire also gutted the adjacent Democratic Party building.

No casualties were reported in the incident, as the 15 BPS employees immediately fled to the police station. However, every archive and vehicle were completely razed.

The BPS employees could not be evacuated to Wamena by car because crowds had blocked the exit from Karunaga city.

According to Djarot, who visited Tolikara a week ago, tensions in Tolikara were increasing ahead of the election scheduled for Feb. 17.