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BANGKOK, April 16, 2009 (AFP) - Thai police said Thursday they are probing reports that two men whose bodies were found gagged and bound in Bangkok's main river were anti-government protesters who rallied here this week.
Violent street protests raged in Bangkok Monday, leaving two dead and 123 injured, but so far there have been no confirmed fatalities among the "Red Shirt" demonstrators loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The new administration of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has been intent on avoiding fatalities, which would be highly damaging politically. The two dead reported earlier were local residents who clashed with the protesters.
The Bangkok Post quoted a colleague of the dead men found Wednesday morning, who were both security guards, as saying they had set off on a motorbike Monday to join the mass rally outside Abhisit's offices at Government House.
Their bodies were found floating in the Chao Phraya river, with their hands tied behind their back. They had been badly beaten and had head injuries.
However, police said there was no confirmation the pair were at the rally and that robbery was a more likely motive, as their motorcycle was missing.
"The official investigation has not yet found their deaths are related to the political rally," police investigator Lieutenant Colonel Virat Petcharat told AFP.
"One of their friends told reporters that they came to join the Red Shirt rally," he said, adding that the man had not repeated his claim to police.
The rally outside Government House broke up Tuesday after troops threatened to use force against thousands of demonstrators who had massed there for three weeks.
The night before, as soldiers tightened their grip on the protesters, local residents clashed with the Red Shirts, and two residents aged 19 and 54 were shot and killed.
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