Three people hijack Gajayana train

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 08/27/2011 5:39 PM


Three people hijacked the Gajayana train travelling from Malang, East Java, to Jakarta on Saturday, and threatened the driver to obey their orders.

The hijackers reportedly boarded the train at around 9:35 a.m. when the train stopped at Trisi station, Indramayu, West Java. They immediately entered the train’s control cab and threatened the driver to follow the route they dictated, kompas.com reported.

Jakarta city police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Suhardi Alius said that one of the hijackers carried a gun and a knife to threaten the train’s driver.

“He carried something: apparently a gun and a knife. They told the driver to obey their instructions,” Suhardi said, adding that passengers on the train were unaware that the train had been hijacked.

The train was en route to Gambir Station; however, the hijackers told the driver to divert the train to Senen Station. Once there, a number of police officers were waiting for the train, having been alerted by the train’s control centre officers, who had become concerned when the train driver did not answer their calls.

About an hour after leaving Trisi station, the train arrived at Senen Station. Police officers rushed onto the locomotive. A gunshot was heard from the train, shocking thousands of travelers who were waiting to board other trains to carry them to their hometowns for Idul Fitri.

“The gunshot was fired by one of our police officers,” Suhardi said.

Police officers apprehended two of the hijackers: a civilian and a naval officer. “[As for the third person], we did not manage to catch him. We are still investigating his role in the hijacking,” he said, playing down concerns that the incident related to a terrorist act.

The Navy’s information department head, First Admiral Untung Suropati, confirmed that one of the hijackers is a first sergeant with the Navy. Untung only gave his initial as “D”.
“He serves with the marine defense battalion at the Navy’s main base III in Jakarta,” Untung said as quoted by tribunnews.com.


( too much shabu-shabu again!)