CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered transfer of the probe into the murder of BSP state president K Armstrong from the Tamil Nadu police to the CBI.
Justice P Velmurugan passed the order while allowing the petitions filed by the slain leader’s brother, K Immanuvel, alias Keynos Armstrong, who had argued that the police had not investigated the case properly.
The judge directed CBI to file the chargesheet within six months. Armstrong was hacked to death by a gang on July 5, 2024, at Perambur while he was inspecting a construction site.
The Greater Chennai Police held investigations and arrested 27 persons. One of them, Thiruvengadam, was killed in a police encounter.
Armstrong’s brother alleged shoddy investigation
The police have also filed a final report in the Principal Sessions Court in Salem. Alleging shoddy investigation and failure to interrogate certain high-profile persons connected to the murder,
Armstrong’s brother had approached the High Court earlier this year with a plea to transfer the probe to the CBI to ensure that the truth behind the crime is brought out.
He had also prayed for the court to set aside the final report filed in the case. The prosecution, however, had vehemently opposed the plea for transferring the probe, stating that the investigations were completed and the final report was filed in the trial court.
It had also contended that the investigations into a criminal case cannot be transferred to another agency once the final report is filed. Armstrong’s wife Porkodi had also filed a similar petition.