JAKARTA, Oct. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The Indonesian police have named eight followers of a little-known religious sect in Central Sulawesi province as suspects for the killings of three police officers earlier this week, local press reported Saturday.
The suspects were among at least 72 followers of sect leader Mahdi who were arrested after a deadly clash on Tuesday with police near the provincial capital of Palu, The Jakarta Post reported.
The eight suspects, who aged between 24 and 40, were responsible for the deaths of the three police officers during theclash, including Adj. Comr. Imam Dwi Haryanto.
"The first four people are believed to have killed Imam using machetes, while the last four helped drag and hide Imam's body," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boedihardjo was quoted as saying.
He also said that a total of 117 Mahdi followers, including 32 men, 40 women and 45 children, had surrendered to local police.
Police had also confiscated 18 machetes and a spear believed tohave been used in Tuesday's incident.
The conflict broke out after 16 officers went to the mountainous Gawalise area near Palu to detain Mahdi for allegedly spreading heretical Islamic beliefs.
However, the attempt to arrest the 27-year-old leader met strong resistance from his followers, leading to the deaths of three officers and two sect members.
A day later, police launched a massive raid against the sect tolocate the attackers and Mahdi as they were reportedly holding several officers hostage in their hideouts.
The search efforts, employing over 300 heavily armed police anda helicopter, eventually bore fruit, with the three officers being found alive on Thursday in a forest area near Salena hamlet where the sect was centered.
"The evacuation process has been completed but police are intensifying their efforts to find Mahdi," Aryanto said.
He denied that police had violated the basic rights of citizensto freely practice their religion by attempting to arrest the sect leader. Enditem | 
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