Chennai: One of the accused in the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Tamil Nadu chief, K Armstrong, was killed in an encounter with police on Saturday night, police said.
Police said Thiruvengadam, the accused, who was taken to a spot near Madhavaram to recover the weapons used to kill Armstrong, made an escape bid by attacking cops, prompting the police team to open fire at him.
He suffered an injury and was rushed to the government Stanley Hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. Eight suspects – Ponnai Balu, Ramu, Thiruvengadam, Thirumalai, Selvaraj, Manivannan, Santhosh, and Arul – were arrested by police within three hours of Armstrong’s murder on Friday. Three more suspects Gokul, Vijay and Sivasankar were arrested on July 7. Preliminary investigations revealed that Balu orchestrated the killing to avenge his brother Arcot Suresh’s death in August 2023. Armstrong was murdered on July 5, which coincided with Arcot Suresh’s birthday.
Deceased Thiruvengadam and the arrested Arul were also involved in the murder of Thennarasu alias Thenna, Tiruvallur district president of BSP, reported at Thamaraipakkam Koot Road near Periyapalayam in 2015. Thiruvengadam was involved in 11 cases including three murders, police said.
Tamil Nadu Opposition Leader Edappadi Palanisami, BJP State President K. Annamalai, PMK Leader Anbumani Ramadoss and NTK Leader Seeman strongly condemned the incident and criticised the police.
Following this, the police gave an explanation saying that based on Thiruvengadam's confession, on Sunday early morning he was taken in a Government vehicle under proper security to the house in Manali where he was staying to seize the weapons involved in the Armstrong murder case. While being escorted, when the police vehicle was stopped on the way to Reṭṭēri lakeside, Thiruvengadam escaped and the police tried to catch him, the police said.
When Police tried to capture him, who was hiding in a village under Puzhal police station limit, Thiruvengadam took out the gun he had hidden and fired at the policemen, the sources said. The police inspector immediately opened fire on Thiruvengadam for self-defence and the injured was immediately taken to Meridian Hospital. Doctors examined Thiruvengadam and declared him dead. Regarding this Incident, a case has been registered at M3 Puzhal Police Station and the first information report has been sent for judicial review, Police said in the statement.
