Armstrong murder: TN Youth Congress man, who attended slain BSP leader’s funeral, daughter’s b’day, arrested
Aswathaman had attended the 16th-day ritual after Armstrong’s death. Social media was also filled with his photographs at the birthday function of Armstrong’s daughter
TN Youth Congress functionary Aswathaman
CHENNAI: In yet another arrest of a functionary of a political party for the murder of BSP President K Armstrong, the city police on Wednesday arrested N Aswathaman (32), a functionary of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress, increasing the number of persons arrested in the case to 22.
After his arrest, TNYC’s state president M Lenin Prasath issued an official statement stating that Aswathaman was removed from primary membership of youth congress.
Aswathaman is also an advocate and the son of rowdy and history-sheeter, Nagendran, now in Vellore Central prison. He was secured from Vyasarpadi by a special team based on the information provided by the accused arrested earlier in Armstrong’s murder case.
Police sources said that Aswathaman and his father had an enmity with Armstrong over a multi-crore land deal near Sholavaram. Few months ago, while out on parole, Nagendran had attempted for peace talks with Armstrong, but it did not materialise, police sources said.
Incidentally, Aswathaman had attended the 16th-day ritual after Armstrong’s death. Social media was also filled with his photographs at the birthday function of Armstrong’s daughter.
Apart from Aswathaman, political functionaries from the DMK, BJP, AIADMK, and TMC were arrested by the city police in connection with Armstrong’s murder. Police had also engaged divers from Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) to recover phones dumped in Kosasthalaiyar river. On July 20, G Haridharan of AIADMK, a lawyer and a ward councillor in Kadambathur panchayat union in neighbouring Tiruvallur district was arrested for helping to dump the phones,
Last week, the police had arrested five persons including T Pradeep (29), a former Home Guard volunteer with the city police, and B Siva (35) of Mathur, an advocate, said to be a close associate of a notorious history-sheeter, who is also under the police scanner.
Eight persons including the brother of Arcot V Suresh were arrested within three hours of Armstrong's murder in Perambur on July 5. Police had initially claimed that he was killed in retaliation for Suresh’s murder last year.
Meanwhile, in an early morning ‘encounter’ on July 14 near Madhavaram, the city police shot dead K Thiruvengadam (33), one of the suspects, when he allegedly opened fire at the police team, which had rounded him up after he fled while being taken to secure weapons used in the murder of Armstrong’s murder.
