Police confirmed Tuesday that Interpol had issued a warning to Thailand that the Sikh terrorist who broke out of a high-security jail in India a decade ago was en route to Southeast Asia.
This 2004 graphic from The Telegraph, Calcutta, showed how three Sikh separatists staged "an audacious jailbreak" by tunneling their way out of the high-security Burail jail in Chandigarh, where they were being held during their terrorism trial. Jagtar Singh Tara (centre) is the subject of a Thailand-based manhunt.
He may have used Thailand to aid his escape, the spokesman said.
The Immigration Bureau believes the Indian terrorist is currently somewhere in Thailand.
Investigation and Interrogation Division commander Warawut Thaweechaikarn said intelligence agencies should know where Jagtar is hiding.
This computer-generated photo shows what Singh might look like if he tries to shave, cut his hair and remove his turban. Photos and alerts were distributed to border authorities in the South on Monday.
Security authorities have been put on high alert following reports Jagtar fled to Thailand and may be trying to cross the southern border to Malaysia before heading onward to Pakistan to become involved in further terrorist activity.
"He is expected to still be in Thailand," the commander said Tuesday.
Jagtar had been convicted for his involvement in a 1995 bombing that killed 18 people in India's Punjab state, including the then-chief minister of Punjab, Beant Singh.
He was found to have supplied the car used in the suicide car bomb attack.
Jagtar, believed to be the leader of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), one of the Khalistan terrorist groups operating in India and Pakistan, was later arrested along with a number of other people involved in the bomb attack.
They were jailed in the high-security Burail jail in Chandigarh.
Three of them, including Jagtar, escaped from the prison through a long underground tunnel in 2004.
However, the prime minister, policy makers and the military played down the reports that the Indian terrorist is hiding out in Thailand.
"There are still no reports to indicate whether the man is in the country. Police are following up on the issue," Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said.
Thailand will agree to extradite Jagtar to India if he is captured by Thai officers here, the premier said.
He said he has been informed about the details of the matter and he is keeping a close eye on the situation.
Meanwhile, Police Regions 8 and 9, overseeing the southernmost provinces, have been ordered to remain vigilant, Gen Prayut said.
Pol Lt Gen Sakda Chuenpakdi, acting Immigration Bureau chief, said he had ordered officers along the southern border to be cautious and beef up their checks.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon conceded that Indian authorities had contacted Thai officials about Jagtar.
Indian officials have also sent photographs and personal information about the Sikh fugitive to their Thai counterparts, he said.
He said he does not believe the convicted terrorist is in Thailand.
Army chief Udomdej Sitabutr on Tuesday echoed Gen Prawit's view, saying an investigation showed that Jagtar did not enter Thailand and was not involved in the southern violence.
However, security sources believe Jagtar entered Thailand in September on a fake passport and he is still in the country.
It was earlier believed that he was hiding in a hotel in Pattaya and in Lat Krabang in Bangkok before reportedly heading down to the southern border.
He then supposedly planned to either travel to Malaysia through the three southernmost provinces or to Cambodia.
In Sa Kaeo, the border province opposite Cambodia, provincial immigration office chief, Pol Col Teerachai Dedkad, said a combined force from Immigration, the Burapha Force and Khlong Luek police had set up a checkpoint in front of the Aranyaprathet border crossing to look for the wanted man.
Photos of Jagtar were handed out to officers to help them hunt down the fugitive.
However, the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) said Thai authorities received a warning about Jagtar when he fled jail in 2004.
Thai officials will continue to search for Jagtar and try to locate the man through all border channels, Isoc spokesman Col Banpot Pulpian said.
It is still unknown where he has fled to, he said.
He said Jagtar's information has been in the intelligence database for a period of time and he did not know how the information about the convict was leaked.
Col Banpot said that Jagtar had no knowledge of assembling explosive devices.
He was not found to have any links to the violence in the deep South, the spokesman said.
Concerns over Jagtar's whereabouts recently surfaced after Indian media reported that radical groups, backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), held a secret meeting and jointly resolved to revive terror strikes in the Punjab region.
Reports say the radical groups have started recruiting young men to join the extremists.
The move has been closely monitored by the Indian government following intelligence reports that Sikh militant groups plan to launch the attacks in Punjab and other locations in India.
A paramilitary insurgency, including terrorist units, has operated for many years, demanding secession from India for a Sikh homeland. (Khalistan Tiger Force photo via Flickr)