Indian fugitive may not be in Thailand: Army Chief

BANGKOK: No evidence has been found to prove that former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh's killer had entered Thailand, the country's Army Chief has said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, however, said he did not know if the suspect, Jagtar Singh Tara, was on Thai soil and would wait for police reports on the subject.

Army Chief Udomdej Sitabutr, meanwhile, said he had assigned authorities to closely monitor and strengthen safety measures in the southern border provinces, including an increase in the screening and searching of people and vehicles entering and leaving the country.

The investigations into the whereabouts of Jagtar found no evidence that he had entered Thailand, Sitabutr was quoted as saying by the Nation.

The Army chief was responding to reports that Jagtar, a suspect in the 1995 assassination of Singh, who escaped a maximum security prison in India the same year he was arrested, may be taking refuge in Thailand.

Thai security officials, however, gave conflicting information yesterday about Jagtar's whereabouts.

Acting Immigration chief Sakda Chuenpakdee said the runaway may be hiding in the country.

"Tara, the suspect, entered Thailand at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in September on a tourist visa," he said, adding that according to Jagtar's arrival card, he is in Thailand for tourism purposes.

Police say they had already visited the suspect's accommodation in Lat Krabang area, but could not find him.

Photographs of the fugitive have already been distributed among border authorities and posted at border checkpoints, Sakda said.

Earlier, Internal Security Operations Command's spokesman Colonel Banpote Punpian said previous investigation into reports did not find that Jagtar sneaked into Thailand.

"It is just speculation that he may have entered Thailand," he said.

He said the suspect was not a bomb expert and had nothing to do with the insurgency in deep South.