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Police detain Ahok supporter’s attacker, still hunting for accomplices
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Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama visits his supporter Widodo being treated at Royal Taruma Hospital in West Jakarta on Jan. 8. Widodo was beaten by members of a hard-line Muslim organization. (kompas.com/Jessi Carina)
P
olice have detained Irfan, a member of an Islamic organization, for allegedly assaulting a supporter of incumbent Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, identified as Widodo, and are continuing their hunt for the attacker’s accomplices.
“Yes, we have detained him [Irfan],” Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono told kompas.com on Tuesday.
Argo said Irfan, accompanied by his parents, surrendered to the police on Sunday, two days after he and his friends purportedly had beaten up Widodo, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the Jelambar area, West Jakarta.
The PDI-P along with the NasDem, Golkar, Hanura parties, have backed Ahok in the upcoming election slated for Feb. 15.
(Read also: Police probe resident's resistance against Djarot)
Besides Irfan, Argo said the police had also named a person identified as Fahmi, who was still at large, as a suspect in the case.
“So far, two people have been named suspects. We are still hunting for Fahmi,” he said, adding that the police have questioned nine witnesses, including the victim who was currently being treated at Royal Taruma Hospital, West Jakarta.
Widodo said earlier that while he was accompanying Ahok’s running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat during a campaign visit in the area a group of people had blocked them off. In the evening, allegedly the same group approached and had beaten him until black and blue. (jun)
