West Java Police Deny Unisba Bandung Campus Attack: Anarchist Provocateurs
The West Java Regional Police (Polda Jabar) denied allegations that officers entered the Bandung Islamic University (Unisba) campus during a demonstration in Bandung that turned violent on Monday night (September 1, 2025).
Police firmly stated that the clash occurred after a group of anarchists dressed in black provoked the attack.
Head of Public Relations for the West Java Regional Police, Senior Commissioner Hendra Rochmawan, stated that a joint Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and Indonesian National Police (Polri) patrol initially encountered a road littered with piles of rocks, wood, and burning tires.
“They devised a provocative scenario where they lured officers into retreating to the Unisba campus, hoping they would attack. However, we remained calm, refused to be provoked by their scenario, and conducted a sweep along the road,” Hendra said in a statement on Tuesday (August 2, 2025).
According to him, the group instead launched an attack from within the campus area, throwing Molotov cocktails at patrol vehicles and Brimob vehicles.
Then, the officers fired tear gas toward the highway, which Hendra said was carried by the wind into the campus parking lot.
“This is what the anarchist provocateurs wanted, and they were waiting for the right moment to create a clash between students and officers. They framed the officers as having entered the campus, armed with rubber bullets and firing tear gas, which was all a hoax,” he concluded.
