Nagendran, prime accused in Armstrong murder case, dies of heart attack

P. Nagendran, the prime accused in the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Armstrong, died of a heart attack at Government Stanley Hospital. He had been ailing and was suffering from renal issues, the police said.

The 57-year-old, who was a resident of Sathyamurthi Nagar, Vyasarpadi, was a known gangster in the city, according to the police, and had been serving imprisonment for the past 25 years in connection with various criminal cases including murder, attempt to murder, and extortion. In the Armstrong case, he was named Accused No. 1 and was the key conspirator, the police said.

At the time of his death, he was serving life imprisonment at Central Prison, Puzhal, after being convicted of murdering AIADMK cadre Stanley Shanmugam in 1997 in Vyasarpadi.

Nagendran’s son, N. Aswathaman, an advocate and former Congress functionary, is Accused No. 3 in the Armstrong murder case. He and another known gangster Sambhav Senthil were also named conspirators. According to the police, Aswathaman, like his father, was involved in various criminal activities. The father-son duo had a longstanding enmity with Armstrong due to his frequent interference in their business, the police said.

Nagendran and his associates were also involved in the murder of A. Thenarasu, who was the secretary of the Chennai North unit of the BSP and a close associate of Armstrong. In February 2015, Thenarasu, who was an accused in at least three murder cases and more than a dozen other criminal cases, had just emerged from a wedding hall at Thamaraipakkam village near Vengal, when he was murdered.

Bail granted

The Principal Sessions Court, meanwhile, has granted interim bail to Nagendran’s son Aswathman until Monday (October 13) so he can participate in his father’s funeral. The court also stipulated certain bail conditions.