Friday evening’s gruesome murder of Tamil Nadu BSP president K Armstrong in front of his house by six motorcycle-borne gangsters is reminiscent of the 1980s’ crime thrillers featuring underworld dons as characters. “This is a tit for tat murder as the slain leader himself had underworld links,” said a senior intelligence bureau official monitoring the case.
Mayawati, the BSP supremo who flew down to Chennai on Sunday morning, said Dalits were not safe in Tamil Nadu. “There is no law and order worth its name in the State. The murder of Armstrong should be probed by the CBI as we do not trust the Tamil Nadu Police,” said Mayawati after paying homage to Armstrong.
She consoled the widow of Armstrong and was seen hugging and kissing the one-and-half-year-old daughter of the slain BSP leader. The girl had been named Savitri by Mayawati herself. Mayawati said those held by the police in connection with the murder are not the real culprits.
“The murder of a hardworking and dedicated BSP leader and State party chief outside his residence has deeply hurt me and my entire family. Armstrong was associated with the philosophy of Ambedkar and was a follower of Buddha, so when he decided to work in politics, he chose BSP. He strove for the growth of the BSP in Tamil Nadu,” said Mayawati after laying a big wreath on the mortal remains of Armstrong.
The Dalit activists in the State held the DMK Government responsible for the murder of Armstrong. It is an open secret that Armstrong never liked the DMK and that is being seen as the reason behind Mayawati’s refusal to forge an alliance with the Dravidian major. Armstrong was elected as a Councillor of Chennai Municipal Corporation in 2006 as an independent and joined the BSP in 2007.
Impressed by his dedicated work, Mayawati appointed him as the State chief of the BSP in 2009 shunting out Selvaperunthagai, the then president. Selvaperunthagai crossed over to the Congress and was appointed as TNCC chief. In Tamil Nadu’s politics, Dalit leaders do not see eye to eye even if they belong to the same party.
“When Arcot Suresh, a gangster, was murdered in August 2023, there were reports linking Armstrong to the murder. All these leaders were notorious for the Kangaroo courts held by them. Armstrong was one of the prominent faces of Kangaroo Courts,” said the intelligence official. According to Gauthaman Ramakrishnan, editor of Sri TV, the arrest of Ponnai Baalu late Friday night speaks a lot about the murder of Armstrong. “Baalu is the brother of Arcot Suresh and his involvement in the case is curious,” said Gauthaman. He said that one cannot swallow the claim by BSP leaders and activists that Armstrong’s was a political murder. “If you go through past instances, it could be proved that there was more than politics in such murders,” said Gauthaman.
He pointed out that Armstrong’s gang had encroached many poromboke land on the pretext of building Viharas (Budha Temples). Armstrong had consecrated a Vihara in a lake adjacent to Cooum river which could not store the surplus water from the river. The Chennai flood of 2018 was a result of this illegal construction, said Gauthaman.
