An Indian Youth Congress member and former functionary, Ashwathaman, has been arrested in connection to the gruesome murder of Tamil Nadu BSP president K Armstrong. Ashwathaman was arrested based on a statement given by a former Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) functionary G Hariharan who is also a suspect. Following the arrest of Ashwathaman, the Congress removed him from the party.
“This decision was made after his actions were deemed inconsistent with the values and principles of our party. The Tamil Nadu Youth Congress is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and discipline within its ranks. It is imperative that all members adhere to our code of conduct to uphold the organization's integrity,” TMC said in a statement.
Ashwathaman is the son of Nagenderan, a history sheeter who has been in jail for the past 25 years, but is believed to still be involved in gang-related activities from inside prison.
A well-known Ambedkarite Buddhist leader, Armstrong was brutally hacked to death on July 5 by armed assailants on bikes who pretended to be food delivery agents. They were waiting at an eatery near Armstrong’s under-construction home.
In a statement, the Sembiam police station said that so far 21 people have been arrested in connection with the murder. Earlier, on July 14 one of the accused, K Thiruvengatam was killed by the Chennai police in an extrajudicial murder (commonly known as encounter). On July 21 former TMC functionary Hariharan was arrested as a suspect. Arul, a DMK member and an advocate is also in police custody.
On August 5, Armed police personnel and a personal security officer (PSO) were deployed for the security of Armstrong's wife Porkodi and their three-year-old child after an anonymous letter threatening to abduct the child was sent to their home.