Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – The West Java Regional Police have denied allegations that their officers fired tear gas directly at Bandung Islamic University (Unisba). According to the police, the smoke entered the campus area after being carried by the wind from the street.
The tear gas was fired on the street, but the wind blew it toward Unisba's parking lot, said Grand Commissioner Hendra Rochmawan, Head of Public Relations for the West Java Regional Police, on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
Hendra explained that police personnel were deployed to the vicinity of Unisba on Monday night, September 1, after a group of individuals dressed in black allegedly provoked officers. He claimed the group hurled Molotov cocktails at police barricades and tactical vehicles from within the campus grounds.
According to Hendra, the group's actions were aimed at inciting clashes between officers and students. They wanted to create the impression that officers entered the campus armed with rubber bullets and tear gas, but that's a hoax, Hendra asserted.
Student testimony
A Unisba student, identified only as Ridho, gave a different account of the events. He recalled that tear gas was first fired at around 09:45 PM local time, with the barrage briefly halting at about 10:40 p.m. Roughly an hour later, however, the campus electricity suddenly went out, plunging the area into darkness.
At around 11:35 PM, Ridho said, another assault began. I heard people shouting Police, police, police! over and over. When I looked out the window, I saw a crowd of people running into the campus, he recounted.
Ridho claimed police indiscriminately targeted those seeking refuge inside the university. At one point, a tear gas canister struck a campus security guard in the chest, he said.