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Police brigadier held hostage by armed civilian group in Papua found dead
As Hedar started talking to a friend, a group of men suddenly appeared and abducted him.
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Police are unable to confirm the cause of Heidar’s death, as communication in the region is very limited. (JP/-)
First Brig. Hedar, a member of the Papua Police crime directorate who was taken hostage on Monday has been found dead.
“We found [his body] at 5.30 p.m. local time, not far from where he was taken hostage,” said Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. AM Kamal on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com. He was taken hostage in Puncak regency.
The police blamed the kidnapping on an armed criminal group.
He said the body had since been transferred to a community health center (Puskesmas) in Ilaga district and would later be flown to Makassar, South Sulawesi.
However, he said he was still unable to confirm the cause of Hedar’s death, as there were very limited channels of communication in the region.
Kamal explained that Hedar was taken hostage on Monday at 11 p.m. local time.
He said Hedar was riding a motorcycle alongside his partner Brig. Alfonso Wakum while investigating a crime in the regency.
As they passed Kampung Usir, a friend of Hedar’s, who lives in the village, called to him. Alfonso stopped the motorcycle as Hedar got off and went over to see him.
As Hedar started talking to his friend, a group of men suddenly appeared and abducted him, the police said.
Having witnessed the abduction, Alfonso rushed to the nearest police post in Kago subdistrict and reported the incident, Kamal said. (rfa)
