Thai Police has forbidden people to make offerings with red flowers at the Bangkok Pu Kaek shrine because of the association of red flowers with murders and accidents in this area of Bangkok, police of Thailand said on Friday.

The Police of the Somdej Chaophraya district in Bangkok have erected a large sign forbidding visitors from placing red flowers at the Pu Kaek shrine in the hope that their ban will reduce the number of violent deaths in the neighborhood, Sergeant Pairoj Thienpitak said.

We are keeping our eyes on the shrine to keep away all offerings of red flowers, as every time someone offers red flowers here, the next day police are informed of people being murdered or dying in accidents in the area, he said.

Sergeant Pairoj Thienpitak added that dozens of people have died at times when police spotted red flowers at the shrine, leading them to believe that Pu Kaek (Indian Grandfather), the spirit believed to inhabit the shrine, hates red flowers.

The shrine contains various idols and Buddha images, but is not devoted to a mixture of local religions.

Many people in Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country, are superstitious and believe in spirits and ghosts. Some Thais believe that spirits will become angry if proper respect is not shown and bad luck will follow as a result.

In one case, a police officer was shot dead by his wife soon after he saw a bunch of red flowers at the shrine, said Pairoj, who has worked at the Somdej Chaophraya police station for more than a decade.

The large black-and-white police sign erected at the shrine reads in Thai: "Do not leave red flowers as an offering.".