8 arrested after gruesome murder of Indian politician
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Bahujan Samaj Party Tamil Nadu president K. Armstrong was hacked to death with machetes and sickles near his home in the southern city of Chennai, on the night of July 5.
PHOTO: MAYAWATI/X
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NEW DELHI – Eight people were arrested in India on July 6 for the murder of a politician who championed the rights of lower-caste Indians, police said.
Mr K. Armstrong, the Tamil Nadu president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was hacked to death with machetes and sickles near his home in the southern city of Chennai, on the night of July 5.
Six men travelling on motorbikes attacked Mr Armstrong while he was “chatting with friends and supporters” near his home in the Tamil Nadu state capital, the Indian Express newspaper reported.
The men reportedly escaped before anyone could intervene.
Several of Mr Armstrong’s supporters took to the streets later in the evening to protest against his assassination and demand justice.
Senior Chennai police officer Asra Garg said eight suspects were being interrogated after a “preliminary investigation”.
Ms Mayawati, the national head of Mr Armstrong’s BSP, who uses only one name, said the attack was “highly deplorable and condemnable”.
“The state government must punish the guilty,” she said in a post on social media platform X.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin also urged the police to speedily conclude the investigation.
“Armstrong’s assassination is shocking and deeply saddening,” he said. AFP
