New Delhi: One of the accused in the murder of K. Armstrong, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, was killed in an encounter near Madhavram in Chennai on Sunday, July 14, Chennai Police said.
The accused in question, Thiruvengadam, was taken to a hideout where he claimed to have stashed the weapons he had used in the killing of Armstrong at around 5:30 am on Sunday. Once at the spot, the accused attacked the police and tried to run away. The police had no option but to fire at him, resulting in his death, said a senior official of Chennai Police, according to The Hindu.
His body was then shifted to the Government Stanley Hospital for post-mortem. Thiruvengadam was one of the 11 accused in the case.
The BSP leader was hacked to death by six bike-borne men near his house in Chennai earlier this month. The men attacked Armstrong when he was in a discussion with a few party members near his house in Chennai’s Sembium area and then fled. Though he was rushed to a hospital by his family, he was declared brought dead. Armstrong was elected to the Chennai Corporation Council in 2006.
Doubts are being raised over how Thiruvengadam lost his life. Former chief minister and All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader Edappadi Palaniswami said a “police firing incident looks suspicious as the police team seems to have not taken adequate security measures before taking a murder accused to his possible hideout”, The Hindu reported.
“Based on media reports, it seems the police firing incident shows that standard procedures were not adhered to by the police. Also, the slain accused had himself surrendered to the police after the murder. With all these events in the backdrop, the incident (police firing) looks suspicious,” he said.
