A lookback at the Armstrong murder case: 28 arrests, many motives

CHENNAI: Over 65 days have passed since the cold-blooded murder of Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu chief and advocate K Armstrong and 28 arrests have been made so far, which has taken the lid off the unholy alliance between politicians from different parties, advocates, history-sheeters, and at least one Home Guard volunteer.

But why was Armstrong killed? Was the murder the result of a gang war or political rivalry? Did Armstrong’s past finally catch up with him? Answers to the questions surrounding the whydunnit remain elusive, but not for long, say the police. "The motives of each accused will be revealed after we file the charge sheet this week,” said Police Commissioner A Arun who took charge just three days after Armstrong’s murder.

Here is what we know so far:

The setting: On the fateful day of July 5, around 7.15 pm, an unsuspecting Armstrong (52) was standing in front of his under-construction house at Venugopal Swamy Koil Street in Perambur, talking to his brother, Veeramani, and friends Balaji and Abdul Ghani, when a gang rounded him up. Two of the suspects were waiting at the scene dressed as food delivery agents; they were joined by four others who attacked Armstrong with sickles and knives and ensured that he breathed his last before they fled the scene. Though the Dalit leader was rushed to a private hospital, doctors declared him dead on arrival.

The suspects: The police swung into action immediately and arrested eight people within three hours of the cold-blooded murder. The main accused secured by the police is Ponnai V Balu (39), the younger brother of slain rowdy, Arcot Suresh, who was killed in broad daylight last year. The others were identified as D Ramu (38), K Thiruvengadam (33), S Thirumalai (45), D Selvaraj (48), G Arul (33), K Manivannan (25), and J Santosh (22). Since then, 28 suspects have been arrested — lawyers, political functionaries, and history sheeters — who appear to be part of an unholy alliance.

Meanwhile, on September 7, on the orders of Commissioner A Arun, ten accused — Ponnai V Balu, D Vinoth (38), S Thirumalai, G Arul, K Manivannan, J Santosh, D Selvaraj, K Sivasakthi (26), R Vijay (21), and G Gokul (25) — were detained under the goondas Act.

READ STORY HERE: Armstrong murder a hit job by Chennai crime syndicate

Nexus of political functionaries, advocates, history sheeters under probe:

1. S Malarkodi (52), advocate and expelled AIADMK functionary (widow of ‘Thottam’ Sekar, who was killed by a rival gang over two decades ago

2. M Anjalai (48), Arcot Suresh’s partner and a former BJP functionary and category B history-sheeter

3, 4. Congress party functionary Aswathaman, his father gangster Nagendran

5. Porkodi, wife of Arcot Suresh

6. K Haridharan, lawyer and expelled AIADMK ward councillor in Kadambathur panchayat union, Tiruvallur district

7. D Selvaraj, a BJP functionary

8. K Sathish, son of a DMK functionary

9. Hariharan of Tamil Maanila Congress (M) (expelled)

10. T Pradeep (28), former home guard volunteer with the city police; son of a serving sub-inspector with the city police's Armed Reserve; and relative of slain rowdy Arcot Suresh

A change in the top brass: With political leaders, the public and the media raising questions on the murder and an alleged intel failure, city police commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore reiterated that ‘all is well’ and denied political rivalry as a motive for the murder. However, a day later (three days after the murder), he was replaced by ADGP A Arun.

An extrajudicial killing: Merely 10 days after Armstrong’s murder, one of the prime accused Thiruvengadam, who was in police custody, was shot dead in an early morning police ‘encounter’ on July 14. The cops invited the ire of various parties after they claimed that the accused had tried to open fire on the cops while being taken to secure weapons used in the murder.

A suspicion no more: The arrests of many history sheeters in the early days following the murder led to opposition leaders and BSP cadre wondering if the real accused were brought to book and if the arrests were just an eyewash.

To quell these doubts, on the day of Thiruvengadam’s encounter death, the city police released CCTV footage of Armstrong’s murder which showed assailants dressed as food delivery agents ambushing the victim and hacking him repeatedly. The police also marked each assailant’s visual with their names on the footage before releasing it to the media.

A needle in a haystack: After the arrest of the first eight suspects within hours of the murder, it came to light that the gang had done a recce and gathered information about Armstrong’s daily routine and whereabouts, days before the murder, despite the top cops claiming that there was no intel about the crime. Enquiries also revealed that the gang, after murdering Armstrong, had promptly thrown their mobile phones along with the sim cards into the Kosasthalaiyar River, which was fished out by the cops later in July. Call records and a probe into suspects’ bank accounts also revealed that there were several suspicious cash transactions made to the bank accounts of 20 suspects, days before the crime. Nearly every account had more than Rs 5 lakh coming in around the time of Armstrong’s murder, police had said. Despite the number of suspects who have been sent to judicial custody in the case, no clinching evidence or information has been discovered yet.

READ MORE:

Armstrong murder: Slain rowdy Arcot Suresh's wife Porkodi arrested

Armed security for slain TN BSP chief Armstrong's family after threat letter

The motive(s):

The main gangs involved in the murder are associates of slain history sheeter Arcot V Suresh, jailed gangster Nagendran, and another gangster Sambo Senthil, who is on the run.

1. Slain rowdy Arcot Suresh's associates may have wanted to do a hit on Armstrong in revenge for Suresh's murder. Suresh was hacked to death in broad daylight in August 2023. Though Armstrong's name was not on the FIR, Suresh's associates believed the BSP leader was behind the murder. The two allegedly had a stand-off over backchannel dealings to settle the multi-crore Aarudhra investment scam.

2.'Sambo' or 'Sambavam' Senthil is a notorious and elusive gangster, also a law graduate, who was forced to pay lakhs of rupees to Armstrong to clear a house purchase deal, more than 15 years ago.

3. Nagendran, an infamous gangster who has been lodged in prison for two and a half decades, and his son and budding politician Aswathaman had locked horns with Armstrong during a land deal worth crores of rupees.

All the arrested persons, including a battery of lawyers, are in one way or another linked to these three gangs. 

ALSO READ: Armstrong murder case: Police pick up son of Jayapal, prime accused in Arcot Suresh's killing

Who said what:

1. When BSP supremo Mayawati arrived in Chennai to pay her last respects to slain Armstrong and sought a CBI probe into the murder: “To ensure action against the accused, the BSP party cadre should come forward but at the same time, stay within the limits of law and show that the weaker section does not take law into their hands." (July 7)

2. When filmmaker Pa Ranjith reacted after the Madras High Court refused to allow burial of Armstrong’s body in the premises of the BSP office in Perambur: "Burying Armstrong’s mortal remains in Perambur in his residence-cum-office was deliberately prevented. After the end of a two-day drama, we were forced to bury him in a village outside Chennai. Even though the DMK government had the power, it did a huge act of deceit by not allowing to bury his body in Perambur where he lived. Do you really care about the Dalit leaders and Dalit people?" (July 9)

3. When Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol Thirumavalavan suspected a 'political agenda' behind Armstrong’s murder: "In the last few months, there have been reports about a link between Aarudhra Gold Company, some people in the BJP, and Armstrong’s murder. Those who are connected to Aarudhra Gold hold posts in the BJP. The Aarudhra Gold company case is being spoken about in relation to Armstrong’s murder. These aspects should be investigated." (July 12)

ALSO READ: Bahujan Samaj Party appoints new Tamil Nadu chief; Armstrong's wife given key role

(With inputs from Janani Sampath & Online Desk)