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Calls for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu president K Armstrong resurfaced on Monday, August 4, as Armstrong’s wife, Porkodi, filed a petition in the Madras High Court alleging serious lapses in the police investigation. The court, admitting the plea, directed the prosecution to file its response and adjourned the matter to August 20.
This latest petition follows a similar plea by Armstrong’s brother, K Immanuvel, on which the High Court had already reserved its order. While hearing the plea, Justice P Velmurugan had earlier questioned the Greater Chennai City Police for failing to conduct even the basic legal procedure of an identification parade despite multiple eyewitnesses to the brutal daylight murder on July 5, 2024.
According to a Times of India report, Porkodi, in her plea, argued that the investigation was hurried and incomplete. She claimed key witnesses were not examined, and alleged that the political links behind the killing were not adequately explored. She pointed out that Tamil Nadu Congress president K Selvaperunthagai, reportedly close to one of the main accused, Nagendran, was not interrogated. Porkodi also questioned the legitimacy of the alleged encounter killing of one accused, Thiruvengadam, and the quick filing of the chargesheet.
The court had earlier taken a strong stance on the investigation. On July 28, 2025, while hearing Immanuel’s petition, Justice Velmurugan remarked that failures in police procedure often led to acquittals and labelled the Armstrong case “a classic example.” The judge dismissed the justification offered by Additional Advocate General P Kumaresan that media publication of accused photos rendered identification parades redundant, stating, “Was the media the eyewitness to the crime?”
According to the prosecution, Armstrong was hacked to death by an armed gang in front of his house in Perambur. His elder brother Veeramani, who suffered injuries trying to defend him, had clearly stated he could identify the assailants, yet no identification parade was conducted.
The police maintain that they carried out a professional probe, forming a 65-member Special Investigation Team and charging 30 individuals. The motive, according to the police, was gang rivalry stemming from the 2023 murder of gangster 'Arcot' Suresh. The charge sheet — spanning 7,087 pages — names several of Suresh’s relatives and associates, with key suspects still absconding. Efforts are underway to extradite one of them believed to be hiding in Europe.
Despite these claims, the BSP’s Tamil Nadu unit continues to question the investigation. Following Armstrong’s murder on July 5, 2024, the party had raised concerns that those arrested were not the real culprits and demanded a CBI inquiry. They also called for the suspension of the ADGP of the Intelligence Wing, terming the killing a grave intelligence failure.
Armstrong, a prominent Dalit Ambedkarite leader and former councillor of the Greater Chennai Corporation, was declared dead on arrival at Apollo Hospital after being attacked around 7.30 pm on July 5.