TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Smoke grenade behind explosion at Monas not ours, police say
An investigation into a blast that injured two Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel is currently under way, with the Jakarta Police having formed a task force dedicated to answering the question of how a explosive device ended up in a public place in the first place.
Change Size
Security personnel patrol the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta after an explosion on Tuesday morning. (JP/Vela Andapita)
T
he Jakarta Police have said that a smoke grenade believed to be the cause of an explosion that occurred in the northern part of the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta on Tuesday morning did not belong to police personnel.
An investigation into the incident, which injured two Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel, is currently under way, with the Jakarta Police having formed a task force dedicated to answering the question of how a explosive device ended up in a public place in the first place.
A preliminary examination from the National Police’s laboratory and forensics team indicated that the blast was caused by a smoke grenade, though the team still needed to examine the explosive’s fragments to confirm the finding, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus said.
Following the incident, Yusri said on Tuesday that smoke grenades were usually used for exercises by security personnel and that the devices were of low strength, similar to firecrackers.
However, he asserted on Wednesday that the smoke grenade that went off Tuesday did not belong to the police force.
“No, [the grenade] was not the police’s property. Who says it belonged to the police?” Yusri said as quoted by kompas.com.
Read also: Explosion at Jakarta's Monas: What we know so far
The police are gathering information from eyewitnesses, including the two injured TNI soldiers, who are currently undergoing medical treatment at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital.
“Investigators are trying to retrieve information from [the victims]. We will just wait for the information from the investigators,” Yusri said.
The explosion occurred within the Monas complex across the Home Ministry building on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara shortly after 7 a.m. on Tuesday, putting many in shock as the blast was near the President’s office in the State Palace.
The injured personnel, Sgt. Maj. Fajar and Chief Pvt. Gunawan, were conducting exercises with other personnel in the area that morning before sustaining injuries in the blast. (syk)
