Eight persons, including the brother of a history-sheeter who was murdered last year, have been arrested by the Chennai police in connection with the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader K Armstrong. The Greater Chennai Police (GCP), in a press statement, said that 10 special teams of police were formed immediately and the eight accused were traced and arrested within hours of the incident. The Tamil Nadu BSP chief was murdered around 7.30 pm on July 5 by bike-borne miscreants in front of his house in Perambur.

According to reports, the accused 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). All of the accused are reportedly the relatives of Arcot Suresh, who was a history sheeter accused in more than 30 criminal cases, including two murder cases, and an A+ category rowdy. In August 2023, he was killed when he came out from court proceedings and was walking along with his friend in Pattinambakkam. This murder was carried out for a previous enmity.

Police sources said that Armstrong was murdered by the gang in revenge for Suresh’s murder. Meanwhile, a postmortem is underway in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).

On July 5, Armstrong (52) was standing in front of his house at Venugopal Samy Kovil Street, Perambur when the gang assaulted him with knives. He was rushed to Apollo hospital on Greams Road. However, he was declared dead on arrival. The death was confirmed by the hospital management.

Armstrong, previously served as the Councillor of the Greater Chennai Corporation. Although the BSP does not enjoy much electoral influence, Armstrong was well known in the state as a Dalit Ambedkarite voice.