TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police Crime Investigation Division (Bareskrim) has come under the public spotlight for its questionable actions. Recently, the national ombudsman found that the Bareskrim had mishandled the case of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan, who has been charged over a crime he allegedly committed years ago.

There have been assumptions that Novel is being charged because of his investigation into the corruption charges of Police Comr.Gen. Budi Gunawan, currently the national police deputy chief. The charge against Novel is that he allegedly shot a bird-nest thief, when he was posted at the Bengkulu police precinct 11 years ago.

Comr.Gen. Anang Iskandar, who became chief of the Bareskrim last September, denied any mishandling of the Novel case, stressing that the investigation had been carried out according to regulations. "Otherwise, it would not have been accepted by the attorney-general's office (AGO)," Anang retorted. He said the Bareskrim had completed its task on the Novel case when the AGO accepted its investigation.

Last week, he spoke to Tempo reporters Anton Aprianto, Tito Sianipar, Yuliawati and Syailendra Persada, at his Jakarta office. Excerpts of the interview:

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The ombudsman found a number of irregularities in the police investigation over the Novel Baswedan case.

That needs clarification, although it's not the duty of the police to do so. Our duty is to investigate and we have reported the results in full (to the AGO). The fact that there are other legal opinion on the case is quite understandable.

Have you seen the ombudsman's report?

Yes, I have. The perspective of the investigator is based on facts. Otherwise, our report is unlikely to be accepted by the AGO.

(The police file on Novel was submitted and received by the Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office on December 10)

There have been past cases in which the police were suspected of 'fabricating' facts, for example in the Sengkon and Karta cases. Recently, the ombudsman found similar breaches in the Novel case.

Don't ask us about it. The investigators have done their professional best.

Has there been an internal evaluation on such investigations?

What for? They've been given a thumbs-up.

What is the basis for a good investigation?

Legally, it would consist of quantity and quality of the work done. Quantitatively, it would look at the number of cases investigated and qualitatively, it would look at whether any regulations had been breached.

In the Novel case, would the recommendation of the ombudsman be included as a qualitative evaluation?

Look, it (the institution of the ombudsman) is part of the monitoring or complaint process. I place myself in the middle of two fighting parties. This A person says he's in the right, while the B person says he's wrong. That is what's happening (in the Novel case). We must be in the middle. It's the court that will decide (who's wrong and who's right).

In the Novel case, the police gives the impression of wanting to quickly pass the ball to the AGO.

There are rules for everything. The police investigation is based on the law, the Criminal Code. The investigation (on Novel Baswedan) has been declared to be completed. Evaluations by the ombudsman have no reference, because it's not an investigating body.

So, how does the Bareksrim regard the ombudsman's assessment?

That's information, because the investigation has been completed and in my opinion it was a good one. Yet one party may regard the investigator to be good, while another may find it not so good.

Some view the Novel case as a payback for the KPK's attempt to indict Deputy Police Chief Budi Gunawan. Has he given any instructions?

Of course not. The fact is that it happened, right? Let the case be determined by the court. (*)

Read the full interview in this week’s edition of Tempo English Magazine