BSP Leader Armstrong Killing Case: Tamil Nadu Police Links Murder To Gangster's Financial Scam

In an incident of brash lawlessness, K Armstrong, the Tamil Nadu state unit president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was murdered in retaliation for the killing of gangster Arcot Suresh in August last year, as per police.

Suresh, a Vellore native and Dalit, was a known figure in Perambur and had a contentious relationship with Armstrong, according to a report by The Indian Express.

Investigations have revealed that Suresh allegedly supported a gold trading company involved in a financial scam that defrauded over 1 lakh depositors of Rs 2,438 crore between September 2020 and May 2022.

Armstrong had promised to help some of the scam victims retrieve their investments, causing tension between the two.

Chennai city police have arrested eight people so far: Suresh’s brother Ponnai V Baalu (39), D Ramu (38), K Thiruvengatam (33), S Thirumalai (45), D Selvaraj (48), G Arul (33), K Manivannan (25), and J Santosh (22).

Police tracked down the assailants through mobile phone locations and bike registration numbers, using CCTV footage for reference. According to the same report, the assailants surrendered after the crime, fearing an encounter if caught after a chase.

Another criminal, Nagendran, currently in prison, is suspected of helping Baalu execute the crime.

On Friday night, Armstrong was chatting with friends and supporters near his house when the assailants attacked him with machetes and sickles.

His friends fled, and his family members rushed to the scene upon hearing his cries. They found him lying in a pool of blood with injuries to his head and neck. He was taken to a private hospital in the city, where doctors pronounced him dead.

In a statement, Chief Minister M K Stalin said, “The police have arrested those behind the murder last night. I express my condolences to his family members and party members.”

BSP workers organised a protest outside the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital mortuary, demanding a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation.