Justice seems to have taken a backseat to politics in the police investigation into the discovery last Thursday of a car loaded with explosives.

Both the government and its opponents have been churning out conflicting theories about the case, apparently in the interest of influencing public sentiment rather than shedding any light on what actually happened.

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is mobilising all the means available to him as head of state as well as those available to his ruling Thai Rak Thai Party to portray himself as a victim of a so-called assassination attempt.

His opponents, including the People's Alliance for Democracy, counter that Thaksin pulled the car-bomb stunt to win sympathy. They cite the lack of evidence to back up the alleged assassination plot and dismiss allegations of their involvement in the matter.

Police have been investigating the case by the book and appear to have made virtually no headway.

History shows that whenever police invoke the legal process to explain a lack of progress, the chances are that their leads are drying up and the case is about to be shelved.

Police arrived on the scene while the crime was still in progress. The high-profile arrest was broadcast live. A suspect was caught red-handed with explosives.

From the looks of things, it should have been an air-tight case. Instead they have found it a closed book.

Police charged Lt Thawatchai Klinchana with illegal possession of explosives. They managed to ask many disturbing questions relating to the crime, but hit a wall of silence when they addressed the people who could have given them a clue.

Even though Thaksin and his intelligence chief, General Jumpol Manmai, are convinced that four military officers were involved in the case, police have yet to verify whether these officers could be linked to the explosives or were just making wild and empty threats.

Soldiers attached to the Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC) are known for boasting about their "secret mission", but most of their self-serving remarks go no further than the water cooler and do not translate into action.

While police are puzzling over the case, the rival political camps have focused their debate on whether the alleged assassination attempt was real or staged.

A crucial question is being overlooked - what is the connection between ISOC, a nerve centre for intelligence and security affairs, and the explosives?

Regardless of the potency of the explosives and the motive behind the alleged plot, no authorities have been able to explain the link between ISOC and the explosives.

The facts are that Thawatchai is an ISOC official, and that he was arrested while driving a car loaded down with explosives in Bang Phlat district.

The ISOC's log book shows that the vehicle in question was parked inside the compound from late on the afternoon of Wednesday until Thawatchai drove it out at 5.45am on the following day.

Less than three hours later, police found the explosives.

At the top of ISOC's chain of command is Thaksin. The second in command was General Pallop Pinmanee until the caretaker prime minister sacked him immediately after the explosives were found.

Thaksin and Pallop have tried to pass the blame back and forth between them, but have failed to explain how and why Thawatchai, a direct subordinate, was driving around a crowded community with such a deadly cargo.

Given that all vehicles that drive into ISOC are closely monitored, it is reasonable to assume that the explosives might have been put together inside the restricted security zone at night or perhaps in a nearby area in the morning.

The rival camps are so intent on squeezing political mileage out of the incident that they have neglected to ask about ISOC's involvement. Or they are deliberately overlooking ISOC because they don't want the truth to stare right back at them?

Avudh Panananda

The Nation