Chennai | A key accused in the murder of BSP Tamil Nadu chief K Armstrong was shot dead here on Sunday, police said, adding that he allegedly opened fire at them and attempted to flee from their custody.
Several opposition leaders raised questions about the police's version of events that led to the killing of the murder suspect K Thiruvengadam, and reiterated their demand that the BSP leader's murder be investigated by the CBI.
While the opposition continued to ask if the arrested persons were the "real culprits", police released a video clip that purportedly shows the accused persons hacking Armstrong to death on July 5. The clip was taken from CCTV recordings in the vicinity of the crime scene, the police said.
According to the police, when Thiruvengadam was taken by them to Manali in North Chennai as part of the investigation, to unearth weapons allegedly concealed at a spot, he escaped from custody after pushing away the policemen on escort duty.
The incident took place when the police vehicle had halted near a lake area to enable the accused to relieve himself, according to the police.
Though the police personnel tried to apprehend Thiruvengadam, he fled, the police said. Eventually, however, the sleuths spotted him at a nearby locality and busted his hideout at 'Vegetarian Village', which falls in Puzhal police station limits.
When they tried to arrest him, the accused allegedly opened fire at police personnel using his unlicensed pistol. Immediately, for self-defence, a police inspector shot Thiruvengadam, the police said in a statement. It is, however, not clear whether police personnel were injured in the operation.
The accused was quickly taken to a nearby private hospital for treatment. Doctors there declared him brought dead.
An FIR has been registered and a magisterial inquiry has been ordered.
Thirty-three year old Thiruvengadam is one of the 11 accused who was arrested in the Armstrong murder case after he surrendered to the police. He has a number of criminal cases against him, including other murders.
A couple of days ago, a court here had granted police five-day custody of the accused persons.
Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami demanded to know if the accused, who was killed in the encounter, was handcuffed when he was taken by police to recover weapons.
In a post on social media platform X, the former chief minister wondered about the "necessity" to "shoot to death" a person in police custody.
He was taken away hastily by police early in the morning. The encounter leads to a strong suspicion, he said. "In order to protect whom this encounter was done?," he asked.
Family members of Armstrong as well as functionaries of the BSP have raised doubts that those who "surrendered" (the 11 arrested persons) are not the real culprits. The police action further strengthens that suspicion.
AIADMK chief Palaniswami said authorities should submit to court -- in a sealed cover -- Thiruvengadam's statement to the police.
Since confidence about a fair investigation is lost in this case, he said, and in deference to the plea of family members of Armstrong and BSP functionaries, the case should be handed over to the CBI.
PMK chief Anbumani Ramadoss said the reasons adduced by the police department for the encounter does not inspire confidence in the force.
He said there was no need to take an accused in a very important murder case to recover the weapons.
This leads to suspicion as to whether there could be a conspiracy to protect some people and hide the truth in connection with the Armstrong murder case, he added.
"Suspicion" related to the BSP leader's murder has been "strengthened" with the encounter, he further said.
The PMK leader demanded a court-monitored probe and he too reiterated his demand for a CBI investigation.
BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai said the police version stating that the accused, who had himself surrendered to the authorities, tried to escape from custody leads to a "big suspicion".
Expressing suspicion that there have been efforts to hide the truth, he demanded that higher police officials conduct the investigation.
He urged the DMK government to ensure a fair and swift probe into the killing of Armstrong as well.
On July 5, Armstrong was hacked to death here by a gang and the murder led to widespread outrage. Opposition parties, including the AIADMK, alleged that there has been a deterioration of law and order in the state.
The police and the government assured that stern measures would be taken to bring the culprits to book.
On July 11, police shot dead a history-sheeter in Pudukottai district.
