Police grill eight people over land fire in West Aceh

Meulaboh, Aceh (ANTARA) - Police have interrogated eight people in connection with land fires in West Aceh District in recent weeks.

"We interrogated them to probe the cause of land and forest fires in West Aceh District," Chief of Bubon Police Precinct First Inspector Utra said on behalf of Chief of the West Aceh Police Resort Adjunct Senior Commissioner H Raden Bobby Aria Prakasa SIK on Wednesday.

The eight comprised five local residents and three plantation or landowners.

However, the police have not yet established the cause of the land fires. Based on the eight people's testimonies, the land caught fire itself.

They also admitted that they had never set fire to the land. They were shocked to learn why the land caught fire all of a sudden.

"We continue to investigate the cause of the land fire which has made the people unrest," Utra said.

According to the landowners, the fire razed dozens of hectares of land, causing haze around residential areas.