Accused in murder case of Tamil Nadu BSP chief killed in police encounter

33-year-old K Thiruvengadam was among 11 accused in the K Armstrong murder case.

Published on: Jul 14, 2024, 13:18:27 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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A 33-year-old man, an accused in the murder case of K Armstrong, the Tamil Nadu unit chief of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was fatally shot by the police in an ‘encounter’ in Chennai on Sunday.

Also Read: Who was K Armstrong, BSP's Tamil Nadu unit chief?

According to police officials, K Thiruvengadam, among 11 accused in the case, was taken to a spot near a lake in Madhavaram to recover weapons used in the politician's killing.

“There, he (the accused) tried to attack police personnel with the recovered weapons and flee from the spot. He was injured in retaliatory firing and rushed to a hospital. However, he was declared brought dead,” the officials said.

Recently, a court in the Tamil Nadu capital granted five-day police custody of the accused individuals.

On July 5, Armstrong was hacked to death by six unidentified men near his residence in the city's Perambur area.

BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati attended her party leader's burial and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). She claimed that those arrested were not the ‘real culprits.’

“The way he was killed, shows that there is nothing called law and order in Tamil Nadu. We have taken this incident very seriously and we will not sit quietly. I pray to God for strength to his family and supporters to bear the loss. To ensure action against the accused, the 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 the law into their hands,” Mayawati said at the burial.

Police, meanwhile, have ruled out any political angles to the BSP member's murder.

The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government transferred Chennai's Police commissioner amid outcry over the incident, bringing in A Arun to replace Sandeep Rai Rathore.

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