CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Reghupathy on Monday remarked that "rowdies who escape from the police can only be caught by a gunshot". He was referring to the death of Armstrong murder suspect Thiruvengadam in an early morning 'encounter' on Sunday.

The law minister also questioned state BJP chief K Annamalai who had expressed doubts over the nature of the encounter death. "Whom does Annamalai suspect in the Armstrong murder case? If he conveys the details, we are ready to investigate it," the minister said, while addressing media.

He added that those arrested for the murder of Tamil Nadu BSP chief K Armstrong were indeed the real culprits.

K Thiruvengadam (33) was one of the 11 suspects arrested after TN BSP chief K Armstrong was murdered by a six-member gang outside his under-construction house in Perambur on July 5.

On Sunday morning, when the history-sheeter was taken to a spot near a lake in Madhavaram where the weapons used in Armstrong’s murder were hidden, he allegedly attacked a policeman and attempted to flee. Police reportedly shot him in self-defence. The accused was rushed to a government hospital where he was declared dead.