Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu president K Armstrong was brutally murdered by a bike-borne six member armed gang in front of his residence in north Chennai late on Friday evening.
The incident had sent shockwaves across the state and police said the murder was carried out due to personal enmity.
A lawyer with a strong support base in north Chennai, Armstrong was a trusted lieutenant of BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and he had been the state president of the state unit for 17 long years.
She is expected pay her last respects to the departed leader on Sunday morning, according to party sources.
Police said, the gang had meticulously planned the operation with the assistance of a local auto driver, Thirumalai (45), who passed on information about the movements of the BSP leader.
The assailants and two of their accomplices surrendered before the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anna Ngar, later in the night on Friday. They included one ‘Punnai’ Balu, a history sheeter and brother of notorious rowdy ‘Arcot’ Suresh, who was killed in a gang rivalry near the Marina sea front last year.
On the fateful evening, Armstrong with a few of his associates had visited his new house under construction in Sembiyam near Perambur. There was a biriyani joint nearby and two of the assailants in the guise of food delivery agents started a conversation with an unsuspecting Armstrong.
While Armstrong was attacked with machetes from behind, his associates, Veeramani (65) and Balaji (53) who tried to protect him were also assaulted and sustained injuries. The gang fled the scene immediately.
Armstrong was rushed to the Apollo Hospital on Greams Road in the city but doctors declared him dead on arrival. Ace filmmaker Pa Rajith, who was among those who landed at the hospital, was seen crying in despair. Later, the body was shifted to the Raji Gandhi Government General Hospital, where more than thousand supporters have gathered demanding action against the culprits.
In a statement to the police, ‘Punnai’ Balu had admitted to carrying out the murder in retaliation for the killing of his brother ‘Arcot’ Suresh in which the hand of Armstrong was suspected. Balu had further said after the murder of his brother, he was threatened by the associates of Armstrong resulting in his wife deserting him. This, had prompted him to take a revenge, police added.
Earlier in the day, police detained the hundreds of BSP supporters who had blocked the arterial Periyar EVR Road abutting the Central Railway station in protest against the murder.
The BSP state committee had demanded that the murder case of Armstrong be handed over to the CBI so that the real culprits are brought to book.
The murder coming close on the heels of the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy which claimed 65 lives, had given the opposition AIADMK, BJP and PMK a handle to criticize the law and order situation in the state. Even the DMK ally, MDMK of Vaiko, has urged the police not to be complacent in the face of rising mercenary killings.