The attacker was no stranger to Indonesian authorities. He had been arrested in 2017 at Babakan Ciparay District in Bandung on terrorism charges and sentenced the same year. During his imprisonment, he resisted every effort at deradicalization, instead attempting to radicalize fellow inmates. The National Counter Terrorism Agency, known as BNPT, had classified him as "red status" -- their highest threat designation. Despite this, he was released in 2021 after completing his full sentence, with no mechanism to extend monitoring beyond what the law allowed. According to police, he had joined the Darul Islam network in West Java after graduating from high school in 2006, later shifting allegiance to Jamaah Ansharut Daulah when that ISIS-affiliated group formed. His step-grandfather told investigators that the man had distanced himself from his family long before the 2017 arrest. Neighbours in the dormitory where he lived with his wife and two children described him as withdrawn and asocial -- an electrician who had recently worked as a parking attendant and spoke of wanting to sell kue pukis, a street pancake, but lacked the money to start.

Detachment 88 and the Gegana bomb disposal squad found shrapnel and remains scattered across the station grounds. A controlled detonation at 10:45 AM disposed of unexploded material still at the scene. The forensic picture that emerged was methodical: the attacker had carried two pressure cooker bombs loaded with TATP, a volatile peroxide-based explosive, in his backpack. Only one had detonated. On his motorcycle, investigators found a written statement declaring hatred for the Indonesian government and police, along with handwritten pamphlets condemning the newly passed 2022 Criminal Code, which he branded a product of unbelief. A sticker bearing the Islamic State's black standard was affixed to the motorcycle, and a "1515" marking -- identified by former militant turned analyst Soyan Tsauri as a JAD cell communication code -- confirmed the organizational link. The bomber had left behind a detailed ideological trail, but the broader network behind him took weeks to unravel.

The investigation expanded rapidly. By December 14, police had located several JAD safe houses, including one used to plan the attack. On December 21, authorities announced 26 arrests across five provinces -- West Java, Central Java, Riau, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra. Of those detained, 14 were JAD members and 12 belonged to Jemaah Islamiyah, the older Southeast Asian militant network. Six of the arrested were JAD Bandung branch members directly connected to the bombing. Documents recovered from a location in Cicendo revealed that the Bandung cell had planned additional attacks on police stations across West Java and on the West Java Regional Head Office. The investigation took another turn in July 2023, when the attacker's wife was arrested -- not as an innocent bystander, but as a member of the network who had helped indoctrinate her husband into carrying out the bombing. In August, the bomb maker was captured, a former Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid member and a disciple of Dr. Azahari Husin, the Malaysian bomb-making expert killed by Indonesian police in 2005. Investigators also discovered that JAD had used two fictitious charity organizations to fund the operation.

Sofyan Didu was posthumously promoted to Police 1st Sub-Inspector and buried with honours in Sukasari District, Bandung. Along Astana Anyar road, local businesses shuttered temporarily while the station itself remained sealed behind zinc sheeting and Brimob guards. The ripple effects extended well beyond the neighbourhood. Shopping malls, trading centres, and offices across the country increased security patrols, and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce issued statements reassuring the public. The bombing had occurred just three days before the wedding of Kaesang Pangarep, President Joko Widodo's youngest son, prompting heightened security for that event as well. But the deeper fallout was institutional. By December 30, BNPT announced a comprehensive review of its deradicalization program and committed to developing a new monitoring system for released militants. In March 2023, the agency established a 200-member anti-terror watch network in Bandung, drawing from local government, religious leaders, and student organizations. The Astana Anyar bombing had made visible what counter-terrorism experts had long warned about: a man flagged at the highest threat level, tracked through prison, and released into a system that had no effective way to keep watching him.