CHENNAI: P. Nagendran, a history-sheeter and life convict in a murder case, who was the prime accused in the murder of BSP Tamil Nadu president K. Armstrong in July last year, died due to health ailments at the Government Stanley Hospital in Chennai on Thursday. He had been admitted there after his health deteriorated owing to long-term illness, including liver damage.
Nagendran was serving a life sentence at the Vellore Central Prison for the murder of former AIADMK MLA Stanley Shanmugam at Vyasarpadi in 1997. He was convicted in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
In August 2024, he was arrested in connection with the Armstrong murder case along with more than 25 others, including his son, N. Aswathaman, who is a lawyer. The Greater Chennai Police had accused Nagendran of plotting the murder of Armstrong while being lodged in prison.
Aswathaman, who was named the third accused in the case, was expelled from his post as the state principal general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress soon after his arrest.
In September this year, the Madras High Court transferred the Armstrong murder case to the CBI after Armstrong’s brother filed a petition stating that the Chennai City Police had not investigated the case properly.