Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus said the case had been taken over because the incident took place well beyond his office’s jurisdiction – on a section of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road in Karawang, West Java.

“I’d like to say that the case has been taken over by the National Police because the scene of the incident was in Karawang, which falls within the jurisdiction of the West Java Police,” Yusri said on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

As a result, he said, the National Police would provide all further updates about the case.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Argo Yuwono said on Tuesday that the police’s internal affairs division (Propam) had established a special team to assess whether the police had followed the proper protocols when dealing with the bodyguards of the FPI’s controversial leader, Rizieq Shihab, in the early hours of Monday morning.

Propam head Insp. Gen. Ferdy Sambo said an internal evaluation was normal under the circumstances and did not necessarily indicate a violation of police procedures.

“It’s not because there were indications of a violation,” Ferdy said. “It is our job to see whether the use of force was in accordance with the available protocols.”

Read also: Investigation begins after six FPI members killed by police

He added that his 30-person team would use National Police chief decree (Perkap) No. 1/2009 on police use of force, which stipulates that officers can only shoot suspects if it is clear that they are endangering others, and decree No. 8/2009 on the on-duty implementation of human rights principles to assess whether the killing of the six FPI members was justified.

Ferdy said he expected the special team to work in a swift, transparent and accountable manner in accordance with National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis’ mandate.

Five of the six slain FPI members were buried in Megamendung, Bogor, on Wednesday morning after forensic examinations at the Kramat Jati Police Hospital in East Jakarta.

FPI legal representative Aziz Yanuar said the relatives of the men killed by the police had seen multiple wounds on their bodies prior to the burial.

“There were many [gunshot wounds],” Aziz said, adding that one of the bodies would be buried at a separate location at the family’s request.

The FPI has been assisting a fact-finding team established by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

The police and the FPI have issued divergent accounts of the alleged clash that took place at kilometer 50 of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, prompting calls for a thorough and impartial investigation into what actually occurred.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Fadil Imran said the police shot the men after the FPI members obstructed police activities. He claimed they were equipped with firearms and sharp weapons and had interfered with a police car that was tailing them in response to a tip that there was a plan to disrupt the police’s questioning of Rizieq.

The Jakarta Police had summoned the firebrand cleric for questioning on Monday regarding alleged COVID-19 health protocol violations at his organization’s mass gatherings last month.

The FPI, however, said its members never carried weapons and that a car carrying FPI members was shot at by unknown assailants who then abducted the passengers.

Read also: Observers call for independent investigation into killing of six FPI members in alleged clash with police

Responding to the incident, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) expressed its condolences over the deaths of the six FPI members and urged a peaceful resolution of the case.

“The MUI asks that authorities be transparent and provide information regarding the incident,” MUI chairman Miftachul Akhyar and secretary-general Amirsyah Tambunan said in a statement.

Activists and civil society groups have criticized the police over what some have called extrajudicial killings. They have demanded a transparent investigation into the incident. 

Komnas HAM announced on Tuesday that it had begun an investigation into the deadly encounter.