Police loyal to Indonesia's dismissed national police chief, Gen Suroyo Bimantoro, threw a cordon round his official and private residences yesterday after President Abdurrahman Wahid ordered legal action against him.
Senior presidential aides said Mr Wahid had stopped short of issuing an arrest order for the defiant national police chief, who has since last month refused to hand over his command.
As night fell more than 150 elite troops from Gen Bimantoro's old unit, the mobile brigade (Brimob) and an armoured vehicle surrounded his residences, though the police chief was in Singapore.
One of the troops was quoted by local media as saying they were acting under the order of Brimob commander Insp Gen Jusuf Manggabarani to "secure" the houses from "all possible threats either from within and without."
The troops moved in after a presidential spokesman earlier yesterday announced that Mr Wahid, who is fighting for his political life against parliament attempts to impeach him next month, had ordered legal action against Gen Bimantoro.
"The president has ordered Co-ordinating Minister for Political Social and Security Affairs, Agum Gumelar, to take legal action against those . . . engaged in insubordination," presidential spokesman, Mr Yahya Staquf, said.
Those targeted were Gen Bimantoro and Jakarta police chief, Insp Gen Sofyan Yacoeb.
"If needed, an arrest can be made if the laws allow it against the perpetrators of the insubordination," Insp Gen Staquf told reporters.
However, a key aide of Mr Wahid, cabinet secretary and former attorney general, Mr Marsuki Darusman, later clarified that there was no explicit arrest order.
"So far there is no effective order for the arrest of Gen Bimantoro," Mr Darusman told a press conference.
Mr Wahid had raised the arrest idea in a meeting with Mr Gumelar and Mr Darusman on Tuesday, but the security minister had rejected it and advised Mr Wahid to consider "alternative means" of resolving the problem, Mr Darusman said.
"The president did ask for an arrest to be carried out but the meeting did not give its full agreement," Mr Darusman said.
"The President agreed that [Mr Gumelar] will find other means to solve this problem . . . there was never an effective order for the arrest."
Mr Wahid in comments carried by late night television urged people to stay calm and accused National Assembly Speaker, Mr Amien Rais, of waging "psychological warfare" against him.