Photo shows Pheu Thai Party supporter resembling bomb suspect

However, ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap refused to verify the authenticity of the photo, saying the ministry would take legal action only after the police's own IT division proved that the photo was altered.

Citing an unidentified source, the Thailanguage daily Khao Sod on Saturday reported that the suspected bomb planter, Jirawat Janpheng, now in court custody, was a redshirt guard who had become disgruntled over dismay by core redshirt leaders to get him compensated for the deaths of his relatives during last year's protest crackdown by soldiers.

The emerging photo, distributed widely among several social networks, shows a man who looks very similar to Jirawat wearing a Pheu Thai polo shirt under a jacket posing behind Chalerm during a party campaign. Chalerm and the party's leadership have not yet commented publicly on the issue.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Lt General Winai Thongsong said he would look into the matter once he saw the photo.