PT KAI spokesman Sugeng Priyono said here on Saturday that as of Saturday (Aug 27) until seven days after the Idul Fitri festivity, train locomotives will be guarded by police.
He said the decision to provide the police guards was made following a hijacking action allegedly committed by a member of the Indonesian Navy`s Marine Corps and two civilians in a Malang-Jakarta bound Gajayana executive train on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Navy spokesman Commodore Untung Surapati told ANTARA after the incident that one of the alleged hijackers was identified as First Sergeant Darso.
"Darso is a marine working at the Main Naval Base (Lantamal) III," Untung said, adding that based on information he had received, Darso and two civilians hijacked the Gajayana executive train when it passed through Cikampek railway station in West Java.
According to Untung, the marine and two other hijackers forced the driver of the ill-fated train to divert its route to Senen station instead of Gambir station in Jakarta.
The normal route of the Gajayana executive train from Malang, East Java, to Cikampek station actually passes Bekasi, Jatinegara, and ends at Gambir station but it was diverted to Senen station.
Untung said that for his act, Darso would face severe punishment.
The hijacking drama triggered by Darso and his friends ended at Senen railway station where they exchanged fire with policemen.
Meanwhile, vice chief of Jakarta Metropolitan police Brig. Gen Suhardi Alius said police in cooperation with TNI personnel arrested the hijackers at Senen station on Saturday.
"The ill-fated Gajayana train was supposed to head to Gambir station from Jatinegara but it was hijacked and diverted to Senen, we finally arrested the hijackers," Suhardi said.
Suhardi explained that the train was hijacked after it had left Cirebon station for Jakarta.
He said two illegal passengers and the marine forced themselves into the locomotive and ordered the driver to take the train in the direction they wanted: Senen station.
"But soon after the train arrived at Senen station we immediately arrested the hijackers," Suhardi said, adding that the perpetrators were carrying firearms and sharp weapons during their action.
According to Sugeng Priyono, previously security personnel were only placed in train cars but not in the locomotives. "Now we will intensify security by placing a police officer in every locomotive running on Jakarta-Central Java and Jakarta-East Java routes,
He admitted the new policy would only be implemented during the Idul Fitri holidays. However, he added, if necessary, placing security personnel at every locomotive would be made a permanent measure.
Meanwhile, Vice Chief of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Brig Gen Suhardi Alius, said three men had illegally entered the locomotive driver`s room and ordered him to take the train to Gambir station, Jakarta, without stopping. The driver complied and sent a request to the railway operator to open all lines for the train to go straight to Gambir station.
He said due to busy activity at Gambir station, railway operator order the machinist to direct the train to Senen station. "Once the train enter Senen station, the machinist pull the emergency brake while police personnel act fast and capture the hijackers," he said.
In the meantime, the spokesman of state-owned railway company PT KAI, Sugeng Priyono called on all the would be train passengers not to worry about the hijacking incidents.
"The society should not worry and panic," he said, confirming that such incident will not recur because the train locomotives will be guarded by police personnel starting Saturday (Aug 27) until seven days after the Idul Fitri," Sugeng said.
"In effort to prevent the incident to recur that can cause the society worried, we will place one of police Mobile Brigade personnel to safeguard each locomotive," he said.
He also asked the people to anticipate the security situation in the train without carrying a lot of valuable things like jewelry which could trigger criminal actions.
Sugeng also made sure that the train services will not be interrupted any longer by such hijacking incidents.
(Uu.B003/HAJM/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
