In a swift response to a political assassination that has rocked Tamil Nadu, Indian police have arrested 11 suspects in connection with the murder of K Armstrong, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu chief. Armstrong was murdered near his Chennai residence on Friday evening by a group of attackers posing as food deliverymen. Initial reports confirm that eight of the suspects were apprehended within three hours of the incident.
Armstrong, who ascended to the leadership of the Tamil Nadu branch of BSP in 2007 after running as an independent candidate in earlier elections, was a prominent advocate for marginalized communities, specifically Dalits and indigenous tribes. Following his death, BSP national president, Mayawati, lauded him as “a strong Dalit voice” on Twitter. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, MK Stalin, also expressed his condolences and called for an expedited investigation into the matter via Twitter.
According to police accounts, Armstrong’s assassination was allegedly orchestrated by a man named Arcot Balu, seeking revenge for the murder of his brother, Arcot Suresh, which Balu believed Armstrong had abetted. The primary suspects reportedly used delivery attire as a disguise to gain access to Armstrong before launching the fatal attack.
The murder has galvanized BSP members, who staged a demonstration demanding an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and called for Chief Minister Stalin’s resignation. Mayawati has also echoed calls for a CBI probe to uncover the full scope of the conspiracy as reported by OneIndia.
This incident adds to the string of political violence that has plagued India recently, including a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month and ongoing ethnic conflicts in Manipur. The political climate remains tense, with concerns growing about increased aggression towards certain communities during the current tenure of the BJP government as highlighted by recent reports.
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