The Madras High Court on Sunday, July 7 said the burial of Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief K Armstrong cannot be allowed within the party office premises in Chennai as it is located in a residential area. The Court permitted the burial in a private land in Pothur village in Vilivakkam Panchayat union in Tiruvallur district.

The BSP leader was hacked to death by six bike-borne individuals on July 5. The court was hearing a petition filed by Armstrong’s wife Porkodi seeking permission for burial in the BSP office premises in Perambur as per her husband’s wishes. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu government had denied permission for the same. 

During the hearing on Sunday, Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran appeared for the government and said that the family’s request was denied as there were houses on both sides of the narrow 16-ft road on which the BSP office was located. Justice Bhavani Subbaroyan suggested to the petitioners that they choose a non-residential area with better road access. The court observed that the area should be large enough to accommodate those wishing to pay respects to the BSP leader. Passing over the case, the court asked the petitioners to talk to government authorities about burying the body in a place as suggested by them.

Meanwhile, Chennai Additional Commissioner (North) Asra Garg IPS said that they have detained three more suspects for interrogation in connection with Armstrong’s murder. The eight suspects who were arrested earlier have been remanded to judicial custody till July 18. “A decision on whether they would be formally arrested will be taken after assessing their involvement in the murder,” Garg stated.

BSP chief Mayawati arrived at Chennai on Sunday and paid her last respects to Armstrong. She met his grieving family and laid a wreath at the public ceremony. “The brutal murder of a hardworking and dedicated leader of the BSP in Tamil Nadu and the state party unit president K Armstrong outside his Chennai residence has sent shockwaves across the society. The government should immediately take strict/necessary action to prevent such incidents in future,” she stated in a social media post on Saturday.