Armstrong murder a hit job by Chennai crime syndicate

CHENNAI: Investigation into the brutal murder of BSP State unit president K Armstrong has revealed that a crime syndicate mainly comprising three gangs operating in Chennai city and also from inside the prison plotted the murder and executed it perfectly after pumping in enough funds to the mercenaries in various ways, sources here said.

In a complex plan that had many moving parts, the syndicate networked through lawyers, maintained communication with decision-makers lodged in jail and also deployed foot soldiers to murder Armstrong on July 5, found the investigators.

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.

Ever since Suresh was murdered in broad daylight in August 2023, his associates wanted to take revenge. Though the police did not name Armstrong in the FIR, Suresh's aides believed that the BSP leader was behind Suresh's murder. The two allegedly had a stand-off over backchannel dealings to settle multi-crore Aarudhra investment scam.

Senthil, another notorious gangster had locked horns with Armstrong over the purchase of a house more than 15 years ago, during which Senthil was allegedly forced to shell out several lakhs to Armstrong. Still nursing enmity over this, he was ready to fund any gang that could eliminate Armstrong, said investigators.

Meanwhile, Nagendran, a life convict lodged in Vellore Central Prison, and his son and budding politician Aswathaman, too, had an axe to grind with Armstrong over a land deal worth several crores.

Though Nagendran has been behind bars for more than 25 years, he is said to be still controlling certain operations from behind bars. Citing another reason, sources said both Armstrong and Nagendran who is ageing belong to the same neighborhood, and the latter wanted to remove Armstrong so that his son could operate freely in North Chennai.

According to police sources, it was Nagendran who orchestrated the killing from within the prison. He reportedly coordinated with the other gangs, convinced them to stand united against Armstrong and executed the plan. He calculated that the investigation would never lead to him, particularly because he was in prison, sources said.

The city police have so far arrested 28 suspects in connection with the murder, of whom 10, including Suresh’s brother Ponnai Balu, have been detained under goondas act. One way or the other, all the arrested persons, including a battery of lawyers, are linked to these three gangs, said sources.

At least 70 police personnel have been involved in the investigation from various angles in the last two months. The police are expected to file a chargesheet in the case soon.