Armstrong killing: 8 arrested in 3 hours after murder

CHENNAI: The brutal murder of a state president of a national party is not the best advertisement for the law and order situation in the capital Chennai and the officials responsible for it. However, city Commissioner of Police (CoP) Sandeep Rai Rathore cited data to say all is well. "By the half-year mark in 2023, there were 63 murders. This year, the number is 58," the Commissioner said at a packed media gathering ''highlighting'' the difference of five fewer murders.

The Commissioner said that eight persons were arrested within three hours of BSP state president K Armstrong's brutal murder on Friday night in Perambur and gave credit to his team's network for the swift arrest, but did not delve into the motive behind the murder stating that the case is still under investigation.

"There is no political angle," the Commissioner said and went on to say that it is premature to say it is a retaliatory killing when asked whether the Dalit leader was murdered in retaliation for the murder of rowdy, Arcot V Suresh in August 2023 in Pattinampakkam. The main accused, secured by the police in connection with Armstrong's murder is Ponnai V Balu (39), younger brother of the slain rowdy, Arcot Suresh. The others arrested were identified as D Ramu (38) of Tiruninravur, K Thiruvengatam (33) of Kundrathur, S Thirumalai (45) of Perambur, D Selvaraj (48) of Tiruninravur, G Arul (33) of Tiruninravur, K Manivannan (25) of RK Pet and J Santosh (22) of Katpadi.

When asked if there was any intelligence about the possible threat to Armstrong's life, the Commissioner said there was none. When asked if their much-advertised system to track rowdy elements did not flag any suspicions about the movement of the main accused, Ponnai V Bala, the Commissioner digressed and spoke about the preventive detention arrests of rowdy elements made by the city police over the years.

Armstrong's murder led to a visible disorder in the city with businesses shutting shops in Perambur, Sembium, Peravallur and surrounding areas mostly coming under Chief Minister MK Stalin's assembly constituency since Friday night. Hundreds of BSP cadres staged a road roko outside Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) well until Saturday morning.

The swift arrest of the eight accused did little to quell the tension on the ground as Armstrong's supporters raised suspicions about whether those arrested were the actual accused. It was not just the BSP cadres; even the ruling government's alliance partners, TNCC and the VCK, raised similar suspicions. Rathore, however, said they had sufficient evidence to prove that the arrested persons were behind the murder.

On asked by media persons whether it was a case of intelligence failure, the Commissioner said, "There is no question of intelligence failure as these things (intelligence) only work based on inputs. In this case, there was no credible threat we received."

On Friday, around 7.15 pm, Armstrong (52) was in front of his house at Venugopal Samy Koil Street in Perambur with his brother, Veeramani, and friends, Balaji and Abdul Ghani, when the gang rounded him up.

Two of the suspects were waiting at the scene dressed up as food delivery agents and were joined by four others who attacked Armstrong, ensuring his death. The assailants left one of the murder weapons while fleeing the scene in a hurry, police said.

"We collected CCTV footage and other aids to secure the suspects within three hours," a senior police officer said.

"Since it's a murder case, we are probing all angles. Earlier, he was a history sheeter, but that history sheet was closed through court. Whether Armstrong was involved in the murder of Arcot Suresh or not, we will know only after investigation," Commissioner Rathore said.

Police sources said the attackers did a recce and were aware of Armstrong's movements and carried out the attack. All the arrested were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody. Search is on for others involved in the murder.