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Central Java police officer, Adj. Comr. Yahya Renaldy Lihu, died after being dragged into a 150-meter deep ravine in Petung village in Magelang regency on Thursday morning by a criminal trying to escape.

'€œHe succumbed to his injury: A broken back,'€ said head of the police'€™s documentation division, Adj. Sr. Comr. Sumy Hastri P, quoting the results of a body examination on Thursday.

Yahya and his 15-strong team were escorting Muhyaro, 41, a suspect in a money multiplication case who was also considered responsible for disappearance of Yolanda Irfan Putra, the son of a professor at Semarang Diponegoro University, who has been missing since July 5.

Muhyaro was handcuffed and Yahya was holding his elbow when Muhyaro tried to free himself from Yahya'€™s grip, in the kerfuffle both men rolled into the ravine.

The team members ran after both men and discovered Muhyaro had died on the way down the rocky incline. Yahya himself was still able to speak. '€œLift my leg. It is broken,'€ First Insp. Aji Darmawan quoted Yahya as saying.

Yahya was taken to the nearby Windusari community health center and was later referred to the RSU Tidar Hospital in Magelang. He regained consciousness at about 8 a.m. and was able to call his son Galih Axcel Lihu, but passed away at 11:15 a.m. He was buried on Thursday afternoon at Trunojoyu Cemetery.

The police honored Yahya for losing his life in the line of duty and posthumously promoted him to commander '€” making him Comr. Yahya Renaldy Lihu.

Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Dwi Priyatno expressed his condolences and said Yahya was a responsible police officer.

'€œHe tried to work professionally [...] until he died,'€ Dwi said when he was paying a visit to the officer'€™s home in Banyumanik, Semarang.