Who was K Armstrong? BSP Tamil Nadu Chief hacked to death at Perambur in Chennai

K Armstrong, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu president, was reported dead on Friday, July 5, in mysterious circumstances after being hacked by a six-member gang near his residence, police said.

The police informed that the BSP Tamil Nadu chief was attacked by a two-wheeler-borne gang near his house in Perambur. The assailants fled after inflicting grievous injuries. He died on the way to the hospital, they said. Meanwhile, the Chennai Police formed ten special teams and launched a hunt to trace and arrest the suspects, as per the PTI report.

He was rushed to Chennai Hospital, but he died on the way. He was chatting with friends and supporters when the assaulters launched an attack with deadly weapons. His body was taken to Chennai's Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital.

Who was K Armstrong?

K Armstrong was a professional advocate and a former councillor of Chennai Corporation. He started his active political career with a law degree. The police reported that his early life was tumultuous, marked by eight criminal cases.

The BSP leader secured an LLB degree in 2009 from Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati and was renowned as a prominent Dalit advocate. He passed away at 47 and is survived by his wife and daughter.

He was elected to the Chennai Corporation Council in 2006 and became famous two years ago. This breakthrough in his political career happened when he organised a mega rally in Chennai and invited BSP chief Mayawati.

“His history sheet was closed a decade ago. In his early political career, Armstrong gained prominence by organising rallies for former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in Chennai and serving as a known Dalit leader in the city, "reported The Indian Express, quoting an officer probing the case

He added, "Despite leading the state unit of the BSP, a party with minimal influence in Tamil Nadu, he was known for his active role in local mediations and political activism."

In the 2006 local body elections, K Armstrong won a city ward as an independent candidate.

In 2011, K Armstrong contested from the Kolathur constituency and received massive support from the masses; however, he failed to register a victory.

Demanding that the Tamil Nadu government “punish the guilty,” the BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “The gruesome killing of Mr K Armstrong, Tamil Nadu state Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president, outside his Chennai house is highly deplorable and condemnable."

The post further reads, "An advocate by profession, he was known as a strong Dalit voice in the state. The state Govt. must punish the guilty.”