The Tamil Nadu unit of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has demanded that the murder case of their state president K Armstrong be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The party has alleged that the eight persons arrested by the Tamil Nadu police have no connection to the murder. Armstrong was brutally murdered by bike-borne miscreants at around 7.30 pm in front of his house at Perambur on July 5. The police have arrested eight persons in connection with the murder and further probe is underway.
A press release from the BSP’s state unit said the executive committee meeting held at the Ramabai office on Saturday, July 6 raised four demands. The party has alleged that the murder was a planned and premeditated one and demanded a CBI probe.
Alleging that those arrested in the case are unrelated to the murder, the party demanded that the true culprits be brought to justice. Eight persons were arrested by the Chennai police in connection with the murder during the wee hours of July 6. The arrested persons have been identified as V Ponnai Balu (39), K Manivannan (25), K Thiruvengatam (33), D Ramu (38), J Santhosh (22), S Thirumalai (45), G Arul (33) and D Selvaraj (48). It is being alleged that they are accomplices and relatives of late Arcot Suresh, a history sheeter accused in more than 30 criminal cases, including two murder cases, and an A+ category rowdy. Arcot Suresh was murdered in 2023. It is speculated that Armstrong was killed in revenge for Arcot Suresh’s murder but further details are awaited in this regard.
The TN BSP unit has also demanded the immediate suspension of the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of the Intelligence Wing, calling the murder a failure of intelligence. The party has also asked that the last rites of Armstrong be conducted with full government respects.
After the deadly assault, the 52-year-old leader was rushed to the Apollo hospital on Greams Road, where he was declared dead on arrival. Armstrong previously served as the Councillor of the Greater Chennai Corporation and was well known in the state as a Dalit Ambedkarite voice.
Read : Tamil Nadu's law and order comes under fire following BSP chief Armstrong’s murder