Gen Prabowo Subianto, one of Indonesia's most feared and influential generals, is being investigated by the army in connection with the kidnappings of political dissidents before the fall of president Suharto in May.
Analysts in Jakarta say that Gen Prabowo, the former head of Indonesia's special forces, could be expelled from the army.
The army announced this week that it has detained seven officers from the 7,000-strong Kopassus commando unit, whose former commander was Gen Prabowo, Suharto's son-in-law. The officers, who are reported to include a general and two colonels, are being questioned about the kidnapping and torture of pro-democracy activists, some of whom are still missing. None of the officers have been publicly named.
"Prabowo isn't one of the seven, but he has been questioned and he will be questioned again," says a foreign analyst with sources in the army. He says Gen Prabowo is likely to face a special military board which looks into officers' conduct and has the power to dismiss them from the army.
The general himself, a veteran of Indonesia's bloody invasion of East Timor in 1975, told local newspapers: "I will leave everything to the army commander. If it is proven, I will take responsibility." Gen Prabowo is widely regarded as ambitious and unpredictable. When Mr Suharto resigned Indonesians and foreign diplomats feared that he would launch a coup against the new president, Mr B.J. Habibie. He is widely reported to have driven to President Habibie's palace with a posse of soldiers before being turned away by guards - though it is not clear exactly what happened nor what his aims were. The incident was never publicly confirmed and Gen Prabowo himself dismissed the reports.
The army leadership, headed by the Defence Minister, Gen Wiranto, has been slowly and discreetly reducing what it sees as the threat from Gen Prabowo and his former Kopassus comrades. After the palace incident, Gen Prabowo was removed from command of the army's strategic reserve - the best-armed body of troops - and put in charge of the army's staff college. Other officers have also been moved to desk jobs. The army knows it has to be seen to admit the kidnappings and other human rights violations in order to reassure local and foreign investors. Billions of dollars have left the country in the last year.
The investigation may also have to be widened to look into reports that soldiers were involved in inciting the riots in Jakarta in May in which 1,200 people are believed to have died.
The army investigation has already come under fire from human rights groups for treating the kidnappings of activists as the work of individual officers exceeding their orders, rather than a systematic attempt by Mr Suharto's men to crack down on dissent in the last months of his rule.
"This is institution work," says Mr Mugianto (25), a pro-democracy activist who was kidnapped in March. He was arrested by military police in uniform and handed over to unidentified men who took him to a secret location, tortured him with blows and electric shocks and interrogated him for two days. Mr Mugianto was released in June: eight others have also been freed but 12 are still missing.