The Madras High Court, on Monday, July 15, expressed concerns over police releasing the CCTV footage of the murder of Bahujan Samaj party (BSP) leader K Armstrong. Justice N Anand Venkatesh, along with Justice Sundar Mohan, was hearing a case pertaining to the identities of minor victims in cases of sexual assault, when he made the comment.
CCTV footage of the murder of the BSP leader Armstrong was released by the police, highlighting the names of the accused. It was broadcasted on television channels and circulated on social media, on July 14. The police released the footage hours after they shot down Thiruvengadam, one of the accused in the case, in an extra judicial killing or encounter.
Stating that the CCTV footage was important evidence in the case, Justice Anand Venkatesh said that it was unfortunate that they were televised across news channels. “The way in which they started publicising that murder in all media yesterday, it is very unfortunate that these things keep happening. What type of system are we having? What is it that the police are attempting to prove? People will keep on criticising and keep on saying something. That does not mean that you will show every aspect of the murder inch-by-inch on television just to justify the killing of one of the suspects in an encounter,” The Hindu reported the judge as saying.
The judge also added that if the identities and important details of an investigation gets leaked, it would become difficult for the courts to conduct a trial and convict them. The judge also expressed concerns about the requirement in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (in place of the Code of Criminal Procedure) to record video statements of the witnesses and victims. “When the statements are given by a victim, what is the guarantee that these videos will not get leaked? A girl victim, as such, will be terrified. Yet, now, it is mandated that her statement should be videographed. What will happen if the video is leaked? This is the next biggest challenge that we will be facing,” Justice Venkatesh observed.
On July 14, Thiruvengadam (33), was killed by the police near Madhavaram of Chennai. According to the police, they had to shoot him as he tried to escape. Police sources said that Thiruvengadam had admitted to supplying the weapons used to murder Armstrong.
Armstrong was brutally hacked to death on July 5 outside his Perambur home in north Chennai. A well-known Buddhist Ambedkarite and a popular leader in his own neighbourhood, his murder led to criticism of the Chennai police for the deteriorating law and order situation.