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enior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan was released from Bengkulu Police custody a little before midnight on Thursday, following requests from the antigraft'€™s leaders to have him released.

On Thursday, Novel was unexpectedly flown to Bengkulu during what was supposed to be a case dossier handover from the National Police to the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO) in Jakarta. Novel said on Friday that although he was not arrested he was detained in a Bengkulu Police office for several hours.

Novel had been summoned for a case dossier handover from the National Police to the AGO.

'€œI just followed them and showed no resistance. But then I found the dossier handover did not happen. I don'€™t know why,'€ Novel said.

He said the police had prepared an arrest notice, however, he refused to sign the notice as he thought it was unnecessary since the investigation was almost complete.

Novel is accused by the police of shooting a robbery suspect during his tenure as Bengkulu Police detective chief in 2004. The police first reopened an investigation into Novel in 2012 after the KPK named then National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo a graft suspect.

Then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requested the police to drop the investigation into Novel'€™s case to avoid worsening the standoff between the police and the KPK.

However, the case emerged once again earlier this year soon after Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, a former candidate for the National Police chief, was inaugurated as deputy police chief. Budi had been named a suspect by the KPK in January for bribery.

Novel was arrested in May at his residence and forced to take part in a crime scene reconstruction in Bengkulu. The police then released him following an instruction by President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo to halt the case. However, the case continued to be investigated as it is due to expire next year.

Novel added that the most recent incident was clearly a move to criminalize him in retribution for his having investigated corruption cases involving police personnel.

'€œAll this time I'€™ve just remained calm and followed the police'€™s investigation because I respected the legal process they were following. However, I feel that the process is becoming strange and is leading to criminalization,'€ Novel said.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto confirmed that Novel'€™s official handover would be conducted next Monday, to which Novel said he was ready to show up but hoped that no more surprises would occur.

Novel'€™s lawyer, Saor Siagian said that what the police had done clearly violated the law. He explained that he planned to report the police investigators to the National Police'€™s detective division for abduction.

Separately, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti denied the move against Novel was a show of force but said that Novel'€™s sudden transfer to Bengkulu on Thursday might have been due to miscommunication between police investigators and prosecutors at the AGO.

'€œWe handed him over to the AGO, who then asked for [Novel and his dossier] to be submitted to the Bengkulu prosecutor'€™s office. When the police reached Bengkulu, the prosecutor'€™s office asked for it to be submitted on Monday,'€ Badrodin explained.

'€œSince the investigators didn'€™t want to take any risks with Novel, they decided to detain him. However, [he was released] after the KPK leaders said they would act as his guarantors and we respected that.'€ (foy)