Disorder in the Capital: Days before being shunted out, Chennai Commissioner Sandeep Rathore denied intel failure, revenge motive in Armstrong's murder
The brutal murder of a state president of a national party has raised serious questions about the law and order situation in the city but in his press conference after the murder, outgoing City Police Commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore cited past achievements to say all was well. It was not his best day at the office. He was shunted out today.
Outgoing Chennai city police commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore; Police and BSP cadre outside RGGGH in Chennai on July 6, 2024, a day after the murder of TN BSP chief K Armstrong(Photos: File; Hemanathan Muthusamy)
CHENNAI: The brutal murder in Chennai of the state president of a National party is not the best advertisement for the law and order situation in the city and the officials responsible for it. However, (outgoing) City Police Commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore on Saturday had cited data to say all was well. "In the half-year mark in 2023, there were 63 murders. This year, the number is 58," he said in a presser, stressing the five fewer murders.
Two days later, on Monday, the state home department shunted Sandeep Rai Rathore to an obscure post - DGP, Police Training College. ADGP (Law and Order) A Arun will be the new City Police Commissioner.
The outgoing city police commissioner's press meet after a sensitive murder was not his best day at the office.
Rathore said that eight persons were apprehended within three hours of Bahujan Samaj Party's state president K Armstrong's murder by six bike-borne men on Friday night in Perambur and gave credit to his team's network for the swift arrest but he did not delve into the motive, stating that the case was still under investigation.
"There is no political angle," the former commissioner said and added that it was premature to call it a 'retaliatory killing' when asked if the 52-year-old Dalit leader was murdered to avenge the death of rowdy Arcot V Suresh who was hacked to death publically in Pattinampakkam in August last year. However, later in the day, Rathore's deputy, Additional Commissioner of Police Asra Garg claimed that Armstrong's murder was executed in retaliation for Suresh's killing.
Incidentally, Armstrong was never mentioned in the FIR as a possible suspect in Suresh's murder nor was he under investigation for it.
The main accused, secured by the police in connection with Armstrong's murder, is Ponnai V Balu (39), younger brother of the slain rowdy, Arcot Suresh.
The others arrested were identified as D Ramu (38) of Thiruninravur, K Thiruvengatam (33) of Kundrathur, S Thirumalai (45) of Perambur, D Selvaraj (48) of Thiruninravur, G Arul (33) of Thiruninravur, K Manivannan (25) of R K Pet, and J Santosh (22) of Katpadi. Three others were apprehended by the police later on Saturday.
At the press conference, Rathore recalled that Armstrong had seven cases against him but was acquitted in all the cases and no charges are pending against him. "Since it’s a murder case, we are probing all angles. Earlier he was a history-sheeter, but that history sheet was closed through court. Whether Armstrong was involved in the murder of Arcot Suresh or not, we will know only after investigation," he told media.
When asked if there was any intelligence about possible threats to Armstrong's life, Rathore said, "There is no question of intelligence failure as these things (intelligence) only work based on inputs. In this case, there was no credible threat we received."
When asked if the city police's much-advertised mechanism to track rowdy elements in the state did not flag any suspicion about the movement of Ponnai V Bala, the former commissioner digressed and instead spoke about the preventive detention arrests of rowdies made by the force over the years.
Armstrong's murder on Friday created a visible atmosphere of tension in the city with businesses shutting shop in Perambur and surrounding areas and hundreds of BSP cadres staging a road roko outside Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) well until Saturday morning.
The midnight arrests of the eight accused have done little to quell the mood as Armstrong's supporters have raised suspicions that those arrested were not the actual accused. Even the ruling DMK government's alliance partners, Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai and the VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan have claimed that the real culprits were yet to be held.
BSP supremo Mayawati who visited Chennai on Sunday to pay final respects to Armstrong too demanded a CBI probe into his murder, stating, "The way Armstrong has been murdered, it seems there is no law and order left in Tamil Nadu. The main culprits have not been arrested yet. We are not hopeful that the state government will ensure justice. So, refer the matter to CBI immediately."
Rathore, however, said that the police had sufficient evidence to prove that those arrested were the ones responsible for the murder of the BSP leader.
On July 5, at around 7:15 pm, Armstrong (52) was standing in front of his under-construction house at Venugopal Samy Koil Street in Perambur with his brother, Veeramani, and friends, Balaji and Abdul Ghani, when a gang of six rounded him up and rained blows on him.
Two of the suspects were already waiting at the scene dressed as food delivery agents and were joined by four others who came on bikes. They brutally attacked Armstrong with machetes, resulting in his death. The assailants left one of the murder weapons behind while fleeing the scene in a hurry. police said.
"We collected CCTV footage and used other aids to secure the suspects within three hours of the murder," a senior police officer said.
Meanwhile, thousands including political leaders, film personalities and members of the public thronged a school in Perambur to pay their last respects to the mortal remains of Armstrong on Sunday. He was laid to rest at a private land in Pothur near Red Hills last night.
