BALANKURA Chamkad

Died suddenly in early October 1943 of alleged stomach cancer.  However many suspected that Lieutenant Colonel Kharb Kunjara who was leading the Free Thai military operation in China had a hand in his death as Balankura had previously condemned the officer as a spy and an enemy of the movement and having a hidden agenda that could be detrimental to the cause.  However, Balankura had apparently been suffering stomach pains since early May and the two men only met for the first time in mid-September 1943, less than a month before he died.  With no real evidence of the cause of death, the suspicion of possible ‘foul play’ remained.