Police zero in on whereabouts of Chennai’s elusive gangster ‘Sambhav’ Senthil

Senthil is wanted in several criminal cases, including the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader K. Armstrong in north Chennai in July this year 

The Greater Chennai City Police has zeroed in on the location of gangster ‘Sambhav’ Senthil, who has been operating out of the country and evading police custody for two decades. The police are in the process of issuing a Red Corner Notice against him.

Senthil is wanted in several criminal cases, including the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader K. Armstrong in north Chennai in July this year.

City Police Commissioner A. Arun told The Hindu, “We have tracked him down; he was holed up in a place abroad. We have taken efforts to secure his custody and bring him to the city so he can be prosecuted in all the criminal cases pending against him.”

Senthil is classified as an A+ history-sheeter in H3 Tondiarpet police station in Washermenpet (police district), Tamil Nadu. An A+ history-sheeter refers to someone who has more than two murder cases against them. Senthil is suspected to have been involved in more than six murders, including the murder of Armstrong, besides attempted murders and extortion.

Read The Hindu’s three-part series on the Armstrong murder case here, here, and here.

Senthil is known among gangs in Chennai as someone adept at sketching plans for various criminal operations and sending hirelings to carry them out, the police said. His actual name is A. Senthilkumaran, and he earned the moniker ‘Sambhav’ Senthil – or ‘Sambo’ – as he was known to “get things done,” i.e., carry out crimes with great precision.

Senthil was born into a business family from Thandupatthu village in Thoothukudi district. He has a law degree but he never practised law. He is officially a resident of Tondiarpet in Chennai.

When Senthilkumaran became ‘Sambhav’ Senthil

Sources in the police said he was known to be close to N. Venkatesa Pannaiyar, an alleged gangster and leader of the All India Nadar Padukappu Peravai, who was shot dead inside an apartment in Nungambakkam, Chennai, in a police encounter on September 26, 2003. His death had led to anger among certain sections.

Senthil too was irate over the incident. Until then, he had been running his family business — an aluminium vessel-making unit in Tondiarpet and other places — and had also completed law. However, after Pannaiyar’s death, Senthil was involved in running katta panchayats, extortion cases, chalking out plans for various crimes, and sending hirelings to murder or attack individuals.

His name first figured in the murder of advocate Kamesh Srinivasan, who was shot dead near Mamallapuram inSeptember 2015. Kamesh, a resident of Besant Nagar, was killed when he was returning from Puducherry with Eshwaran, a client who claimed he accidentally pulled the trigger.

Sources said Senthil was allegedly jealous of Kamesh, who was his junior, as he attracted several clients. This reportedly provoked him to murder Kamesh. Later, his name figured in the First Information Reports (FIR) two murders in Neelangarai and Muthialpet in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

To evade arrest, Senthil reportedly fled to a Southeast Asian country, most likely Thailand, the police said, adding that he also used to be in Dubai.

A senior police officer told The Hindu, “Subsequently, he began operating outside India, indulged in extortion, and sent hirelings to carry out criminal activities in and around Chennai. He passed instructions to his men or threatened victims via internet calls. It was tough to trace the origin of these calls.”

His name reappeared in another case in September 2020 when two bikers perpetrated a country bomb attack on two top gangsters in Chennai— ‘Kakkathoppu’ Balaji and ‘CD’ Mani — while the duo were travelling in an SUV on Anna Salai near Teynampet. They escaped unhurt, and Senthil was suspected to be the mastermind behind the attack. He allegedly deployed his henchmen on a bike to attack them so he could gain control over real-estate deals in north Chennai.

Involvement in Armstrong murder case

Senthil was named as the Accused No. 2 in the Armstrong murder case. The police said his feud with the BSP leader began as Armstrong’s men refused to vacate a house bought by his mother Rajeshwari at A.K. Swami Nagar, Kilpauk, in 2005. Armstrong’s associates were running K.V.S. Sat TV, a cable television agency, on the said premises. A dispute arose between the two parties, and Armstrong’s men agreed to vacate the premises only after “extorting” ₹12 lakh from Senthil.

Senthil subsequently got introduced to P. Nagendran, the Accused No. 1 in the Armstrong murder case, through a remand prisoner at the Coimbatore Central Jail named Raja, who worked for Senthil. Raja, an accused in an idol smuggling case, and Nagendran were lodged at the same prison a few years ago. Since then, Senthil has allegedly executed several plans, including Armstrong’s murder, drawn up by Nagendran from the prison.

When Senthil was informed of Nagendran and Co.’s plan to murder Armstrong, he contacted G. Arul — a relative of slain gangster ‘Arcot’ Suresh — who was also involved in the planning. Through an internet call in May, via his associate and advocate K. Hariharan, 27, of Old Washermenpet, Senthil assured Arul he would supply the gang executing Armstrong’s murder with country-made bombs and money. He also gave him ₹4 lakh through his aides ‘Mottai’ Krishna (alias Krishnakumar), who is also an advocate, and Hariharan, at the end of May.

Senthil has not been arrested by the police in any case so far. The police have been on the lookout for him using his photograph taken two decades ago.

After Mr. Arun took over as City Commissioner of Police, a special team intensified efforts to trace Senthil. Sources said a Look Out Circular (LOC) was submitted to the Bureau of Immigration to restrict his movement. Steps also have been taken to issue a Red Corner Notice to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest him, said police sources.

Published - November 16, 2024 04:15 pm IST