Amidst the growing demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the brutal murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) state president K Armstrong, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday visited the residence of the slain Dalit leader.
After paying floral tributes to a portrait of Armstrong, the Chief Minister offered his condolences and consoled Porkodi, wife of Armstrong, and other family members. The chief Minister walking the extra mile comes in the wake of the DMK government facing criticism from opposition parties and civil society on the ‘failure of the law and order situation’ in the state.
The demand for a CBI investigation into the killing of Armstrong, made by BSP supremo Mayawati, has grown louder with BJP state president K Annamalai and ace filmmaker Pa Ranjith Annamalai backing the same.
Annamalai, who visited the family on Monday, has termed as cosmetic the reshuffle in the police echelons following the murder and said the Chief Minister, holding the Home portfolio, should own responsibility and transfer the probe to the CBI. The principal opposition AIADMK too had been vocal in pressing for an investigation by the federal agency to unearth the truth behind the murder.
“Why is the CM hesitant to hand over the probe to the CBI?” Annamalai asked and said the murder was a clear indication of the failure of policing in the state. He also took exception to the statement of the newly appointed Chennai Police Commissioner that the cops would speak to the rowdies in their language, making it clear that Tamil Nadu should not become a police state. “Police encounters as a consequence of this murder is not an answer,” the BJP leader, also a former IPS officer added.
Challenging the police narrative that the brutal murder was the result of personal enmity, Ranjith alleged that the DMK government and that the police were not interested in bringing the real culprits to book.
In a statement, he said, “The police is bent on closing the case on the version of those who have surrendered on the night of the murder on Friday rather than unearthing the truth.”
Maintaining that the DMK should not treat Dalits as a mere vote bank, the noted director blamed the Stalin government for not according permission to bury the slain leader at the BSP party office and instead dragging the issue to the court and allotting a place in Pottur, a suburban village outside Chennai. “It is a deceit of Dalits who helped the DMK to return to power,” he alleged and questioned whether Dalits should be treated as mere vote bank.
Ranjith also condemned the narrative on social media peddled by pro-DMK youtubers labeling Armstrong as a rowdy and as one who met his fate from rivals.
“You can remain contented by concocting such stories of a man who distributed lakhs of books to promote Buddhism of Babasaheb Ambedkar and believing that Dhamma is the way for liberation,” he said and asked “What action plan does the government have to protect leaders working for the welfare of the downtrodden?”