TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The joint independent fact-finding team (TGIPF) for the Kanjuruhan stadium disaster revealed that a three-hour CCTV recording about the tragedy was removed.

The recording that was deleted was after the match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya on October 1, 2022. As the match ended in chaos due to fans of the home team storming the pitch, a series of barracudas were mobilized to evacuate the Persebaya team.

“It was recorded via CCTV in the Main Lobby and Parking Area,” the TGIPF said in its report which had been submitted to President Joko Jokowi Widodo on October 14, 2022.

The CCTV footage starting at 22:21:30 local time recorded events for 1 hour and 21 minutes. “After that, the recording that lasts for 3 hours, 21 minutes, 54 seconds was missing (deleted),” the TGIPF noted.

The recording then appeared again for only 15 minutes. Therefore, the TGIPF was hampered to find out what actually happened in the stadium. The team claimed it is trying to request a complete recording from the National Police.

The Kanjuruhan tragedy that killed 132 people took place after the Arema FC vs. Persebaya Surabaya match. Jokowi thus established TGIPF to conduct a thorough investigation. The TGIPF concluded that tear gas was the main cause of mass death.

Other than deleted CCTV recordings, TGIPF also revealed the police's attempt to replace the CCTV footage of the tragedy. In the meeting with TGIPF on October 5, Arema FC manager Ali Fikri said the police forbade the football management to back up the CCTV recording from 32 sites located inside and outside the stadium.

“The police allegedly wanted to replace the CCTV footage,” the report of TGIPF for Kanjuruhan tragedy said.

FAJAR PEBRIANTO

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