The National Police confirmed on Friday, November 7, 2025, that two human skeletons discovered inside a burned office building in Kwitang, Central Jakarta, belong to Reno Syahputra Dewo and Muhammad Farhan Hamid, two young men who had been reported missing following large-scale protests in late August 2025.

The identification was made through DNA testing conducted by the police’s Health and Medical Laboratory Division (Labdokkes).

“The post-mortem results matched the ante-mortem data, confirming that the remains belong to Reno Syahputra Dewo and Muhammad Farhan Hamid,” Head of Labdokkes Polri, Brigadier General Sumy Hastry Purwanti told a press conference at the National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.

The skeletal remains were discovered on October 30, 2025 inside the Astra Credit Companies (ACC) building, which had been severely damaged during riots accompanying the late August protests. The building’s owner reported the discovery to police when workers began cleaning and preparing the site for renovation.

Hastry cited that the remains were incomplete and had likely been there for more than a month.

“Some bones and organs were missing, so the examination focused on what was left,” she said.

“There were no signs of blunt-force trauma. The two likely died from smoke inhalation before being burned,” she added.

Timeline

According to police data, Farhan had been reported missing since August 31, 2025, while Reno disappeared a day earlier. Both were last seen near Kwitang on August 29, the day when protests turned violent.

Deputy Director of General Crimes at the Jakarta Police, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Putu Kholis Aryana, said that the discovery brings partial closure to a list of missing persons reported during the unrest.

“Initially, 44 people were reported missing during the August 25–31 period. We’ve since located 40 some have returned home, others are facing legal proceedings. Reno and Farhan are among the remaining four, and now they have been found deceased,” he said.

He added that police had been searching extensively for the two, even as far as Surabaya, East Java.

“We confirmed they were last seen in Kwitang, but we don’t yet know why they were inside the building. Unfortunately, all nearby CCTV cameras were damaged in the fire,” Putu said.

Police have arrested three suspects in connection with the arson and looting of the ACC building.

“We conclude that Reno and Farhan were victims of the fire that occurred during the riots,” Putu stated.

Deeper investigation

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) called for further investigation, citing inconsistencies in the police account.

“It’s strange that the remains were only found two months later, even though the police had already conducted a forensic examination and installed police lines at the site,” Dimas Bagus Arya, KontraS coordinator, said as quoted by Kompas, on Friday, November 7, 2025.

Dimas noted that the police had cordoned off the site from September 10 to 20, yet no bodies were found during that period.

“How could the remains be discovered only after the police line was removed? And why were all CCTV cameras conveniently damaged? This raises the possibility that the bodies were moved after the fact,” he said.

KontraS has called for an independent investigation with the families’ consent to clarify the circumstances of Reno and Farhan’s deaths. “These findings must not close the case …. they must open a deeper inquiry into what really happened during the August unrest,” Dimas said.