Elite Indonesian police officers were grilled over the death of 125 people, one of the worst football stampedes in football history.
The officers were under investigation on Tuesday morning, October 4, after witnesses noted that the fracas began when the police lobbed teargas into the stands.
According to AFP, Arema FC fans vowed to further file a lawsuit against the officers who they accused of causing the stampede.
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“If there was a riot, it (the tear gas) should be fired to the pitch, not in the stand.
“Many of the victims were those who were on the stand were panicking because of the tear gas,” Danny Agung Prasetyo, supporter group Arema DC’s coordinator, told AFP.
The fracas also led to the replacement of the local police chief on Monday, October 3, with nine others suspended.
According to the national police spokesperson Dedi Prasetyo, 19 officers were put under investigation over the stadium disaster.
Among the suspended officers were members of the Mobile Brigade Corps, or Brimob, a unit that acts as the special operation's paramilitary unit for the Indonesian police force.
Consequently, the Indonesian National Football League was put on suspension by the government with a task force created to investigate the incidents.
The Indonesian government suspended the country’s national football league and announced a task force to investigate the tragedy.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino described the tragedy as a “dark day” for football.