Union min Ramdas Athawale raises suspicion on bodyguard

CHENNAI: Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder of BSP state president K Armstrong and urged the state police to probe who informed the assailants that Armstrong was visiting his under-construction house without his bodyguards and without carrying his revolver.

Talking to reporters after visiting the family members of Armstrong, including his wife Porkodi, the union minister requested Chief Minister MK Stalin to handover the investigation to the CBI so that various aspects of the murder could be looked into.

Though the police arrested a few people involved in the murder, those who planned it is still not known. “Porkodi told me that Armstrong used to have his bodyguards around him all the time. But at the time of the murder, no bodyguard was with him. Though he used to carry his revolver with him, on that day, he did not have that,” he said.

“Who informed them (the assailants) that Armstrong’s bodyguards were not around him and he did not have his revolver? One of the bodyguards might have given this information. The state police should inquire into these aspects,” he added.