Chennai: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has alleged the involvement of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief K Selvaperunthagai in the murder of its former state chief K Armstrong and demanded his immediate removal from the post.
Armstrong, the then-state BSP chief and an advocate, was murdered on July 5 at his residence in Perambur in the heart of the city, raising questions over the law and order situation in the state.
Over two dozen people, a majority of them lawyers, belonging to different political parties have been arrested in connection with the murder, which is said to be a handiwork of at least three crime syndicates based out of the city.
In a letter to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, BSP TN general secretary K Jeysankar alleged that Selvaperunthagai is an accused in three murder cases and that the state Congress chief "dominated" the corporate scrap and real estate sectors in north Tamil Nadu.
Selvaperunthagai's aide Nagendhiran, whom Jeysankar termed as a violent gang leader, is serving life imprisonment at the Vellore prison for planning murders and threatening business people in Tamil Nadu to obtain money through his son Ashwathaman, an accused in Armstrong murder case.
"Ashwathaman, son of Nagendhiran, was appointed as the principal general secretary of the youth wing by Selvaperunthagai. He is a well-known rowdy, working in the field for his father and Selvaperunthagai," Jeysankar said and alleged that the gang threatened to kill those who entered the real estate business in a big way in north Tamil Nadu.
“Selvaperunthagai planned this heinous assassination with the help of these groups…Because he is the state leader of the Congress, the ruling government DMK, and the police department were hesitant to arrest him,” Jeysankar alleged. The Congress chief wasn’t available for his reaction.
Published 20 September 2024, 15:17 IST