Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian police keep investigating the possibility of an intellectual actor being involved in a racial, religious, and ethnic-related riot in the North Sumatra town of Tanjungbalai on July 29.

"We are still investigating it by analyzing information," head of the general information section of the National Police Senior Commissioner Martinus Sitompul said here on Tuesday.

The police have tried to combine various pieces of evidence including provocation on the social media as part of efforts to find the main source of the riot, he said.

He said the police have arrested a person suspected of being involved in sowing hate speech on the social media.

However, the police did not detain him as he suffered stroke, he said.

"He conducted the provocation from Jakarta," Martinus said.

By Tuesday, the police have named 18 suspects in the riot. Ten of the suspects have allegedly been involved in vandalism, while the rest was arrested on charges of looting or stealing.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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