The Armstrong Murder, Part 1: There’s more to it than meets the eye

Dusk fell on July 5, 2024, as Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president K. Armstrong was inspecting his 2,400-square-foot plot on the narrow Venugopalaswamy Koil Road in Perambur, where the foundation of his new house was being laid. He spoke to several people at the scene, located near the homes of his relatives and the BSP office.

At around 7 p.m., eight people – four of whom were dressed in the uniforms of the food delivery platform – arrived at the site on two-wheeled vehicles, one after the other. Before Armstrong could sense the danger, the gang quickly and indiscriminately attacked him with machetes and knives. Unarmed and unguarded, Armstrong tried to shield himself by raising his hands. However, he fell to the ground and was then stabbed at least 31 times.

Brother K. Veeramani, who was nearby, came to his rescue, but he was hit on the head by the attackers. Armstrong’s driver suffered injuries to the back of his arms.

Two other people were also injured as they tried to stop the attack. The eight-member gang fled from the narrow street on two-wheeled vehicles, brandishing weapons at the people who had by then gathered. The seriously injured were taken to Apollo Hospitals on Greams Road. But Armstrong died on the way.

Later that night, eight alleged attackers entered the Anna Nagar police station in an act of surrender. They said they were related to north Chennai gangster ‘Arcot’ Suresh, who was killed last year, and that they murdered Armstrong as revenge because they believed he was responsible for Suresh’s death. They were V. Ponnai Balu, 39; G.Arul, 32; K. Manivannan, 25; K. Thiruvengatam, 33; D. Ramu, 38; J Santhosh, 22; S. Thirumalai, 45; and D. Selvaraj, 48.

Police in Sembium opened an investigation into Armstrong’s murder based on Mr. Veeramani’s complaint and quickly ruled out a political motive in the case. However, as the investigation progressed, the accounts of those who surrendered did not add up.

Skip to today. Greater Chennai Police Commissioner A. Arun and his special teams arrested 27 people, including members of the Congress, AIADMK, BJP and Tamil Manila Congress, on charges of abetting murder. Gang leaders P. Nagendran and ‘Sambav’ Senthil were named as accused no. 1 and 2.

Extensive material, including documentary evidence and witnesses, was cited in the final 5,000-page charge sheet, which was recently submitted to the competent magistrate’s court. Indian was only granted access to the final charge sheet, which covers several strands of this investigation.

Who was Armstrong?

Armstrong was a prominent Dalit leader and his murder sparked fury in Tamil Nadu. When his body was shifted from Apollo Hospitals to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for post-mortem, his supporters organized dear roka condemning the murder.

Armstrong’s social and political influence in Tamil Nadu, especially in Chennai, is enormous, although from an electoral point of view the BSP had limited influence in the state. Armstrong, an Ambedkarite Buddhist, grew up in Perambur in north Chennai. He was the ninth child in his family to migrate to this area from Tiruvallur district. Growing up, his goal was to work on the railways, but he soon developed a taste for participating in amateur boxing competitions in north Chennai. He was associated with several Dalit leaders in his area and quickly emerged as a striking figure in north Chennai and parts of northern Tamil Nadu, where his influence extended beyond politics and local affairs.

Armstrong entered politics with an LLB degree from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. He practiced law in the Chennai courts and successfully contested the 2006 Chennai Municipal Corporation elections as an independent candidate. He was elected as a councilor from a ward in north Chennai. He then joined the BSP and became its president in 2007.

The Chennai City Police once described him as a history maker; his name has appeared in at least six criminal cases. In all cases he was dismissed or acquitted. As his influence grew, Armstrong became a man with few enemies. He was often seen guarded or moving among crowds. However, on the evening of July 5, he was gone.

Key conspirators

The conspirators’ plan was to make Armstrong’s murder look like a crime committed by a group of lowly criminals to take revenge for the murder of ‘Arcot’ Suresh, a senior Greater Chennai Police officer told The Hindu. They thought that if suspects surrendered immediately after committing a crime, the police would not investigate further. “But we uncovered the entire network and its conspiracy,” the officer said.

The indictments allege that some of Armstrong’s rivals joined hands to hatch a plot to assassinate him. While one gang in the city rounded them all up, another provided the money and weapons. Yet another gang carried out the killing when the BSP leader was unguarded.

Therefore, the story does not begin with Suresh’s ‘Arcot’ or his murder; inevitably begins with the accused saying “no.” 1 in the charge sheet, P. Nagendran. Nagendran, 54, of Sathyiamurthi Nagar in Vyasarpadi has been serving a prison sentence for the last 25 years. He is lodged in Vellore Central Jail. He was sent to jail after being convicted of the murder of AIADMK worker Stanley Shanmugam in 1997 in Vyasarpadi. Known among the police as the gangster who once ruled north Chennai, he was once respected by none other than Armstrong, who called him Periyavar (Senior). However, over time, with Nagendran’s arrest and Armstrong’s subsequent rise to a key political figure, there was a change in their power dynamic.

Nagendran’s son N. Aswathaman was booked as accused no. 1. 3. The lawyer and former Congress functionary (expelled by the party after his arrest), as per the chargesheet, was also allegedly involved in criminal activities. In recent years, the father-son duo had become increasingly hostile towards Armstrong due to his frequent interference in their “affairs”.

One of them was the murder of A. Thennarasu, secretary of BSP North Chennai unit. A close associate of Armstrong’s, Therenarasu, has been charged with at least three murders and named in more than a dozen other criminal cases. In February 2015, when Thennarasu emerged from a wedding hall in Thamaraipakkam near Vengal, he was allegedly murdered by Suresh’s ‘Arcota’ gang on Nagendran’s instigation. Tiruvallur police have launched an investigation; but BSP workers, led by Armstrong, held a series of protests demanding a CBI investigation into the murder. The case was transferred to CB-CID, Tiruvallur. Nagendran became the main accused and was formally arrested. By then, Nagendran’s sentence in the Stanley Shanmugam murder case had expired, but he had to remain in prison.

According to reports, in January last year, Armstrong once again came in the way of father and son when Aswathaman allegedly tried to steal land from a lawyer named T. Sekar, who was taking up 150 acres near Sholavaram for sale on behalf of a construction company. Aswataman and his men reportedly forcibly entered the land and allegedly threatened Sekar to give them 10 acres. As Sekar refused, Nagendran, who had previously undergone a liver transplant and came from prison to a private hospital in Chennai on February 22, 2023, grabbed his mobile phone, allegedly called him and threatened him. Under Armstrong’s pressure, Sekar filed a complaint with the police.

An apprehensive Aswataman, who wanted to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate, has decided to step down fearing that the issue will affect his political prospects. During “compromise” talks at the attorney’s office, Armstrong intervened and forced Aswathaman to apologize. Subsequently, Sekar withdrew the complaint.

Aswathaman allegedly held Armstrong responsible for ruining his political career. The father-son duo openly made it clear that they would do anything to take revenge on Armstrong. But there were others who wanted to settle the score.

Senthil’s role

Senthil Kumaran, also known as ‘Sambav’ Senthil, has been named as accused No. 1. 2 in the case.

The 48-year-old, who hails from Tondiarpet, has a law degree but is known for katta panchayats or kangaroo courts in Chennai. An expert in drawing up plans and sending mercenaries to murder or attack someone, Senthil is, in the words of the police, one of the city’s “most notorious and wanted gangsters”. However, through online conversations with his people in Chennai, he learns that he was operating outside the country.

He has now been removed from the Bar Council and banned from practicing law.

Police said Senthil’s dispute with Armstrong began when Armstrong’s men refused to vacate the house bought by his mother Rajeshwari in AK Swami Nagar in Kilpauk in 2005. Armstrong’s associates ran KVS Sat TV, a cable television agency, from this premises. There was a dispute between the two parties, as a result of which Armstrong’s men agreed to vacate the premises only after “extorting” ₹ 12 lakh from Senthil.

Apart from their hostility towards Armstrong, Senthil and Nagendran had a common link: an inmate on remand in the Coimbatore Central Jail named Raja who worked for Senthil. Raja, an accused in the idol smuggling case, and Nagendran were sent to the same jail a few years ago. Police later discovered that the link was significant as it linked Nagendran and Senthil. Senthil allegedly executed several plans, including Armstrong’s murder, made by Nagendran from prison.

Suresh’s murder

On August 18, 2023, Armstrong’s aide Ottrai Kann Jayapal and his associates allegedly attacked 48-year-old “Arcot” Suresh on Loop Road in Pattinapakkam.

This was allegedly out of revenge for the murder of Therenarasu near Vengal in 2015. According to police, Armstrong was said to have been in a nearby car when Suresh was murdered. However, his name was not released in this case. Believing that Armstrong was responsible for Suresh’s murder, his brother “Ponnai” Balu of Ponnai village in Ranipet district sought revenge. He shook hands with his friends and relatives, including G. Arul of Thirunindravur, Suresh’s relative and lawyer. Six others who claimed to be furious over Suresh’s death joined Balu and Arul. Word spread quickly that there was a plan to assassinate Armstrong, and when Aswataman found out about it, he realized it was time to go back to the BSP leader.

Arul, who had been told that Aswataman and Nagendran wanted Armstrong murdered, spoke to Aswataman by phone on April 1 and again on April 8.

Over the next few weeks, the plot thickened quickly.

Part 2: Uncovering the murder plot

(Compiled by S. Meenakshy)