Gangster Nagendran, lodged in jail for 25 years, included as suspect in Armstrong murder case
Nagendran's son Aswathaman, a Congress functionary, was arrested by Chennai police on Wednesday
Late BSP state chief Armstrong (Daily Thanthi)
CHENNAI: Intensifying the investigation into the murder of BSP State unit president K Armstrong, the Chennai city police included the name of an infamous gangster in the FIR and would now start collecting the details of those who visited him in prison to find out his involvement in the murder.
The gangster, Nagendran, is the father of Aswathaman, a Congress functionary who was arrested by the city police on Wednesday in connection with the murder. Nagendran has been in jail for nearly two and a half decades.
Since Armstrong’s murder on July 5, 22 people have so far been arrested in connection with the case, including Ponnai Balu, the brother of slain history-sheeter Arcot Suresh, and lawyer Arul. The police have also questioned around 200 people based on the call detail records of the accused.
As part of the probe, the police have decided to collect the particulars of people who visited Nagendran at the Vellore Central Prison in the last one year.
The investigation has revealed that Armstrong's murder was a result of a long-standing feud between him and the accused, who were allegedly involved in real estate business and had a history of rivalry.
The police are now focusing on tracing the whereabouts of ‘Sambavam’ Senthil, a key accused in the case, who is believed to be hiding in Mumbai. A special team of police has been deployed to track him down.
In a related development, the police have arrested Senthil’s association Easa, who was lodged in Salem prison.
Apart from Aswathaman, functionaries from DMK, BJP, AIADMK, and TMC were arrested by the city police in connection with the murder.
Eight persons, including Ponnai Balu, were arrested within three hours of the murder. Police had initially claimed that Armstrong was murdered in retaliation for Arcot Suresh's murder last year.
A few days later, the city police shot dead K Thiruvengadam (33), one of the suspects in the case, in an early morning "encounter" on July 14 near Madhavaram.