8 arrested in murder of Armstrong, chief of Mayawati’s party in Tamil Nadu
A day after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu president Armstrong was hacked to death on Friday, as many as eight suspects were arrested in connection with the case, Chennai Additional Commissioner (North) Asra Garg said.
Those arrested are Ponnai Bala, Ramu, Thiruvengadam, Thirumalai, Selvaraj, Manivannnan, Santhosh and Arul. According to preliminary information, the murder seemed to be a case of previous enmity and revenge murder.
A history-sheeter named Arcot Suresh was murdered last year in Chennai. A senior official told India Today that the eight arrested in Armstrong’s murder are either relatives or gang members of Arcot Suresh. In fact, Ponnai Bala is the brother of Arcot Suresh. The accused allegedly believed that Armstrong had a role to play in the murder of Arcot Suresh.
According to Chennai Additional Commissioner (North) Asra Garg, the arrested accused were being questioned to ascertain the motive behind the murder.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage showing the murder accused fleeing the spot after killing Armstrong has surfaced. Armstrong was hacked to death by six unidentified people near his residence in Chennai’s Perambur area.
Initial reports claimed that an unidentified group of bike-borne men attacked Armstrong with knives, leaving him fatally injured on the road. Following the attack, Armstrong was rushed to a private hospital in the city, where he was declared dead.
The body of the politician was shifted to Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital for postmortem.
Commenting on the incident, Chief Minister MK Stalin offered condolences and said he had ordered the police officers to bring the culprits to justice.