Police have taken into custody two more key leaders of the anti-government protest shortly after one of them read out a statement calling for another rally in the heart of Bangkok Thursday evening.

Panussaya Sitthijirawattanakul, an ardent critic of the monarchy, was arrested at a hotel after she ended a live streaming on Facebook, calling on people to join a rally planned for Rajprasong intersection at 4.00pm this evening.

The call was made in the name of the so-called Ratsadorn Party which spearheaded the day-long demonstration on Wednesday that culminated in the protesters taking over areas around the Government House.

A police officer, who led the arrest of Panussaya, showed her an arrest warrant and read out the charges to her. She was heard in a video clip that went viral challenging the warrant which she later tore up.

She was heard asking the police officer: “Isn’t it your duty to protect the people?”

Also arrested was Natthachanon Pairote, a core member of the “United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration”, also a key driver behind the anti-government movement.

The two are reported to be taken to the headquarters of the Regional One Patrol Police in Pathum Thani where a police spokesman said earlier that about 20 political activists are being detained.