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Thai police to interrogate key
witness in Rajan case: PTI

Rajan's former lawyer Sirichai Piyapitchetkul said, after testifying before the police, that "this witness can identify who got the money and how."

A senior police official said if Sirichai was confident that the witness knew of the bribe, the police were ready to accompany him to question the witness overseas.

"The witness, whom Sirichai did not identify, had advised Rajan to bribe his way out of the country," reported The Nation quoting sources.

The lawyer has said the witness apprehended arrest if he travelled to Thailand, the daily added.

Rajan fled mysteriously on November 24 from a Thailand hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for bullet wounds sustained during an attack by rival Dawood Ibrahim gangmen on September 15.

Sirichai had claimed that Rajan rang him up after the escape to tell him that he had walked out after paying a 25 billion baht (Rs 25 billion) bribe to a top immigration police official. The official has denied the allegation and has filed a defamation suit against Sirichai.

Rajan has also denied Sirichai's claim and said he had escaped with the help of a professional group.

The Royal Thai Police are investigating whether Rajan's detention was handled legally.

The police questioned officers about the procedure in signing the order to detain the gangster.

While Sirichai says the Thai police had no authority to detain Rajan, an immigration police officer, who had requested the detention, said under Thai law the police had a right to detain anyone with no passport, before extraditing the person, media reports said.

The Bangkok Post, quoting sources, said the police had two letters signed by Chukiat Dilokpaet, chief judge of the south Bangkok district court to the immigration police commissioner.

The first letter, on September 23, asked the immigration police to prevent Rajan from leaving the country.

The second letter, on October 3, nullified the first letter and instructed the immigration police to free Rajan after he was fined 500 baht for giving a false statement to the authorities.

The paper said after receiving the second letter, the police had detained Rajan, saying a request for his extradition to India was pending.

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