An accused in the gruesome murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu president K Armstrong was killed in an encounter with the police early on Sunday at suburban Puzhal in north Chennai.

The police said, the accused, Thiruvengadam who was in custody, was shot dead after firing at the cops with a pistol in a bid to flee.

The encounter took place when a police team took him to a hideout along the Madhavaram lakeside to recover the weapons used in the murder of Armstrong.

According to the police, when he threatened them with a recovered pistol and refused to lay down the weapon, the cops fired two rounds in self-defence. Hit by bullets above the hip, he died on the spot.

Thiruvengadam body was sent to the Stanley Government Medical College Hospital for postmortem.

Meanwhile, the Chennai City Police released a video of the hacking to death of Armstrong on the evening of July 5 at Sembium in north Chennai. It clearly shows Thiruvengadam with other five assailants, dressed as food delivery agents, assaulting the BSP leader. Thiruvengadam is seen attacking from the back with a machete leaving Armstrong in a pool of blood and two others injured, they flee immediately in two-wheelers.

All the six assailants surrendered late on July 5 night. Later, five more accused were arrested and all eleven were taken into custody by the CB-CID police for questioning.

Thiruvengadam accompanied by a police party to recover the weapons when the encounter took place around 5.30 in the morning.

The police said Thiruvengadam, a notorious rowdy, was facing many criminal cases including the 2015 murder of Thennarasu, a lieutenant of Armstrong.

Opposition parties raised suspicion over the encounter and charged the police with having eliminated the accused to protect the real cuplrits behind the murder.

“How a murder accused in police custody could be taken without handcuffs. The encounter raises many doubts. The DMK Government should hand over the probe to the CBI as demanded by the family of Armstrong and BSP supremo Mayawati,” said AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswamy.

“Is the probe being conducted in a proper manner,” asked state BJP President K Annamalai. “There is suspicion that efforts are being made to help the real culprits get away,” alleged PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss.

Naam Tamila Katchi Chief Coordinator Seema too echoed the same.