National police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang on Friday claimed police have collected enough evidence to implicate a political group in the car-bombing of Central Festival Samui, but said arrest warrants would not be issued yet.
Pol Gen Somyot said physical evidence and witness accounts indicate that the April 10 bombing was politically motivated or politicians might arranged it. He said it was possible that those who instigated unrest in the Deep South might have been hired to carry out the attack in Samui district of Surat Thani province.
The police chief declined to specify which political group might be involved in the blast that injured seven people.
'We will not specify that a southern political group or any group involved, but we are confident that the attack is politically motivated or politicians are behind it,'' said Pol Gen Somyot.
The blast took place at 10.30pm a week ago in the basement car park of Central Festival Samui. The seven people hurt included a 12-year-old Italian tourist. About 10 vehicles were damaged by the explosion.
Asked when warrants would be issued, the national police chief said authorities were working on it and would not rush to issue them to ensure there are no flaws in the investigation.
Police were gathering further evidence to bring those involved to justice. As long as court approval for warrants has not been sought, he would not point fingers at anyone, said Pol Gen Somyot.
Earlier, the national police chief revealed that several well-known southern politicians were suspected of involvement in Samui bombing.