Thai author aims to reignite an investigation into 1946 death of King Ananda

Kungwal Buddhivanid looks on before the hearing of his petition to revive the case of the death of King Ananda Mahidol or Rama VIII at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand on April 4. Photo: Reuters

A Thai court is holding hearings on a petition seeking to reopen one of the most controversial cases in the country's modern history, the death of King Ananda Mahidol who was found shot dead in his bedroom in 1946 at the age of 20.

King Ananda, also known as Rama VIII, reigned from 1935 to 1946, and was the uncle of the present Thai monarch Maha Vajiralongkorn and the elder brother of the last King Bhumibol Adulyadej.