Search for Dhammachayo will continue
The hunt for wanted former abbot Phra Dhammachayo will continue after authorities admitted that he may have fled during the three-week siege of Dhammakaya Temple, officials responsible for the operation said Saturday.
Police and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) are attempting to verify tip-offs about the fugitive monk’s possible whereabouts, DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang said Saturday. He added that those places were inside temples affiliated with Dhammakaya.
“We have got tip-offs that Phra Dhammachayo may be in hiding at one of those places. The DSI is verifying the information and collecting evidence to apply for a search warrant as soon as possible,” he said.
Paisit also admitted that the charismatic monk, wanted for alleged money laundering and accepting stolen assets, may have left the temple in the early days of the siege of the vast complex in Pathum Thani, which started on February 16.
“I believe he escaped sometime between February 16 and 18,” he told reporters. “We found the temple wall had been destroyed ... it was possible someone helped him escape.”
National police chief General Chakthip Chaijinda said there had been no reports from Immigration Police about Dhammachayo fleeing the country.
However, Dr Mano Laohawanit, a former Dhammachayo monk and staunch critic of the temple, said he believed the monk was still hiding inside the 2,100-rai compound.
He claimed to have an informant inside the temple.
On Friday, the temple gave consent for a DSI-led search operation of the compound, particularly the 135-room Boon Raksa building, where Dhammachayo was thought to have been hiding.
Authorities ended their siege of the temple late on Friday but will maintain a presence in the area, which has been declared a controlled area under special powers.