Who wanted BSP leader Armstrong dead? Investigators say there is no simple answer

This is the first story in a two-part series, 'Beneath the Surface', on former BSP Tamil Nadu chief K Armstrong who was murdered on July 5, leaving behind several questions regarding his life and death.

Eight men entered the Anna Nagar K4 police station in Chennai in the late hours of July 5, 2024. Accompanied by three lawyers, the men surrendered for a brutal murder that was committed earlier that evening. The motive, they said, was revenge. They even furnished proof of their involvement in the killing. 

Though their version seemed watertight, as more arrests happened, the police began to suspect that the plan was “a little too perfect”.

It was this feeling that fuelled them to look deeper into the murder of Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief K Armstrong, the investigators claimed. That there is mounting political and social pressure on the state government to actually investigate the killing of a powerful Dalit politician in the state is left unsaid. 

Ninety days into the investigation, the Tamil Nadu police, on Thursday, October 3, submitted a 5,000-page chargesheet, arraigning Nagendran as A1, 'Sambo' Senthil as A2 and Aswathaman as A3. So far, they have arrested 28 accused, killed one of them in an ‘encounter’, and zeroed in on three separate motives for Armstrong’s murder — even as they have officially denied that it is a ‘political killing’ as alleged by the BSP. 

Armstrong, a leader from the Paraiyar community (Scheduled Caste), was a formidable force in north Chennai and certain parts of north Tamil Nadu, where his influence extended to politics and local affairs. Once labelled a history-sheeter by the Chennai police, he rose to become the face of the BSP in Tamil Nadu.

While the police are yet to identify a single motive for his killing, they believe it could have been a combination of factors, including revenge, past rivalries, and real estate disputes. The police also believe that caste rivalry, combined with the business rivalry, also played a role.