Konferensi pers penegakan hukum karhutla oleh Bareskrim Polri di Mapolda Kalimantan Barat, Pontianak, Kamis (29/10/2026). (Foto: Berita Borneo)
PONTIANAK — The Criminal Investigation Agency of the Indonesian National Police (Bareskrim Polri) has named 245 people as suspects in forest and land fire (karhutla) cases across several provinces through the end of October 2026. Police have also named 20 corporations as suspects, four of them foreign-invested (PMA) companies.
Bareskrim chief Commissioner General Asep Safrudin announced the figures at a press conference at the West Kalimantan Regional Police headquarters in Pontianak on Thursday, 29 October 2026, which was also streamed live on the West Kalimantan Police’s YouTube channel.
287 Reports Against Individuals
For individual offenders, Asep said police have filed 287 police reports, covering 5,859.12 hectares of burned forest and land.
West Kalimantan Police recorded the most reports, with 68. They were followed by Riau Police with 59, Central Kalimantan Police with 43, South Sumatra Police with 42, and East Kalimantan Police with 30. Cases are also being handled in other areas, including Jambi and Lampung.
“The region processing the most forest and land fire crimes is the West Kalimantan Police, with 68 police reports. On the National Police Chief’s orders, we went straight to the field, on the spot, in West Kalimantan.”
Comr. Gen. Asep Safrudin, Head of Bareskrim Polri
Investigators found that the most common method was clearing land by burning, either deliberately or through negligence, allowing fires to spread uncontrollably into surrounding forest. Suspects face charges under the Plantation Law, the Environmental Law, and the Forestry Law, depending on each person’s actions.
20 Corporations, 23 Licenses Recommended for Revocation
In the corporate cluster, police are handling 104 reports covering 29,168.78 hectares of burned land. Of these, 20 corporations have been named as suspects: 4 foreign-invested companies and 16 domestic companies.
Police have also recommended that the relevant authorities revoke the business licenses of 23 companies. The indicators include repeated fires, fire origins traced to company concession areas, and inadequate fire prevention and suppression facilities.
In total, police are handling 391 reports, with a combined burned area of 35,027.90 hectares.
Evidence-Based Enforcement
Asep stressed that enforcement is based on evidence, using a scientific crime investigation approach for both individuals and corporations. He said this reflects the commitment of National Police Chief General Suyudi Ario Seto and the police’s support for President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita agenda, particularly environmental protection.
According to Asep, the environmental damage caused by these fires is borne by the public and the state, while the profits go to a handful of irresponsible parties.
On the ground, police have deployed 1,000 personnel under operational control, including from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob), plus 403 personnel for fire education and prevention, along with medical support for affected residents and officers. Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko, head of the Public Information Bureau at the police’s Public Relations Division, emphasized that tackling forest and land fires is a shared responsibility.
For village communities living near forests and plantations, these cases are a reminder that clearing land by burning not only risks triggering haze disasters but can also lead to criminal charges.
Summarized from detikNews, Berita Borneo, Berita Senator, Berita Riau, and Sinpo TV (in Indonesian).
