Madras High Court orders CBI probe into BSP leader K Armstrong's murder

Two months after reprimanding the Chennai Police over its investigation in the murder of K Armstrong, former chief of the Tamil Nadu unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the city last year, the Madras High Court on Wednesday (September 24) once again cited “glaring lapses” and “procedural failures” in the probe before handing over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The order was pronounced by Justice P Velmurugan.

The court also asked the central agency to file a report within six months.

The latest development in the case, which sent shockwaves across the state in July last year, happened while the court was hearing a petition filed by K Immanuvel, brother of the deceased. According to the petitioner, crucial witnesses were overlooked in the case and even mishandled, and the probe was politically influenced.

Also read: Madras HC pans Chennai police for ‘lapses’ in Armstrong murder probe

What court said

The judge, while pronouncing the order, said the case showed how investigative flaws can affect justice, and rejected the state’s view that the police had undertaken a thorough investigation.

According to Velmurugan, the state police failed to conduct an identification parade despite the availability of eyewitnesses. Stating that the prosecution could not take refuge under the argument that photographs of the accused were in the media, he asked whether the media were a witness to the crime.

The court also slammed the police in July for not being able to undertake a proper identification parade in the high-profile case despite the presence of many witnesses.

Also read: Armstrong's murder, the arrest of 2 women, and the dark world of Chennai's gangsters

On that occasion, too, Justice Velmurugan expressed annoyance over the police's investigation while hearing Immanuvel's petition seeking a CBI investigation.

Immanuvel argued that despite the police filing a 5,000-page chargesheet against 30 people, including gangsters, the investigation remained biased. He also pointed to a Supreme Court precedent, saying the high court could order a CBI probe even after a chargesheet is filed if the probe was not satisfactory.

Armstrong's murder

Armstrong was hacked to death near his under-construction residence in Perambur, Chennai, on July 5, 2024. The brutal attack happened in the presence of his elder brother K Veeramani, who also suffered stab injuries while trying to protect the victim. Other people who were around the crime spot included a driver, a real-estate broker, and construction workers. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead by doctors.

Also read: Personal enmity or political killings? Spate of murders leave TN shocked

While the police said it was a revenge crime related to the killing of a gangster in 2023, BSP and Dalit activists said a deeper conspiracy was behind it. Many people were arrested and detained in connection with the incident, but the petitioner was not convinced. He contended the chargesheet was filed hastily based on the statements of those arrested.

The central investigative agency will take custody of the case files under its probe, reassess evidence, and may also summon both new witnesses and those questioned earlier.