The Tamil Nadu Police said on Sunday that a key accused in the murder of BSP Tamil Nadu chief K Armstrong was killed in a police encounter. K Thiruvengadam was one of the 11 accused taken into custody by the police in the murder of Armstrong.
The incident happened near Madhavaram. According to the police, Thiruvengadam was taken by the investigating officials to a location in north Chennai as part of evidence collection. When the officials were trying to find weapons concealed in a spot, Thiruvengadam tried to escape after assaulting a policeman. He was then shot during the encounter.
Though he was taken to a hospital, doctors declared him dead. Thiruvengadam, in his thirties, is one of the 11 accused arrested in the Armstrong murder case and is a history sheeter. A couple of days ago, a court here had granted police five-day custody of the accused persons.
However, AIADMK general secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami condemned the encounter death and said the police version of the events looked suspicious. He questioned whether the police failed to take adequate security measures before taking a murder accused to his possible hideout.
Meanwhile, the police released CCTV visuals of Armstrong's murder, aiming to dispel rumours that those arrested were not the actual suspects.
The video shows the accused men approaching Armstrong dressed as food delivery personnel. The video shows the accused, all clad in red t-shirts, arriving at a spot, a construction site, separately before jointly attacking Armstrong. The BSP leader who was overseeing the construction work was fatally stabbed, after which the accused men fled in the two-wheelers.
According to the police, Armstrong was killed to avenge for the murder of notorious criminal Arcot Suresh, in August 2023. Suresh’s brother Ponnai Balu and other gang members believed Armstrong had a role in Suresh’s killing.