Director Pa Ranjith’s Neelam Cultural Centre held a ‘Rally for Justice’ in Chennai’s Egmore, on Saturday, July 20, seeking justice for late Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu President K Armstrong’s murder. Over a thousand people holding banners that read, “We don’t want police encounter, we want justice” and “Dalit lives matter” marched from Langs Garden road to Rajarathinam stadium in Egmore.
Armstrong was murdered by a group of assailants outside his place of residence in Perambur, on July 4. Hours after his murder, 11 men surrendered to the police. Based on their confessions the police said that the murder could have been retaliatory on the part of late Arcot Suresh’s gang since close aides of Arcot Suresh, who was murdered in 2023, believed that Armstrong had had a part to play in the 2023 murder. Later, on July 14, the city police also killed Thiruvengadan, one of the 11 assailants in an encounter.
“Armstrong Anna (brother) was a powerful leader in Chennai city. Both politically and among the people in his community.There is a big conspiracy behind his murder. The police should investigate the case from all angles and find the real culprits,” Pa Ranjith said at the rally.
He further accused the Dalit MLAs and MPs from the state’s parties including the DMK, AIADMK and the CPI(M) of not having spoken about the issues that the Dalit community is facing in the state. “If those elected by reservation in MLA, MP seats including the Mayor’s seat, don’t speak up for Dalit issues, we will protest. How long will you disappoint us?” he asked.
Participants including Chennai-based writer and activist Shalin Maria Lawrance demanded a CBI enquiry. “The ruling DMK fought tooth and nail with Armstrong in the Kolathur and Perambur areas. So, how can we accept their investigation in this matter? It is the moral and ethical responsibility of the DMK to transfer this case to the CBI considering that he is an opposition leader. But the DMK is instead calling him a ‘rowdy’. At the end of the day, as a state president of a national party, his murder case deserves a CBI enquiry,” she said.
TNM met students who had travelled from other parts of Tamil Nadu to attend the rally. Vineeth, one such student, who was helped by K Armstrong to pursue his education, had travelled from Bengaluru to attend the rally. “We Dalits don’t get justice if we go to the police. We are beaten up. We need to protest for justice. That is the hard truth and that is why I am here today. That is why many of us have travelled to Chennai today. To protest for one among us who was brutally killed because an attack on him is an attack on the community,” he told TNM.
BSP, Indian Republic party, Samuga Samathuva Padai and Puratchi Bharatham’s cadres, May 17 Movement, Tamil Civil rights organisation, Vyasai Thozhargal, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) based in North Chennai’s Vyasarpadi along with common public were in attendance. Actors Mansoor Ali Khan and Attakathi Dinesh were also present at the rally.