A day after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu president Armstrong was allegedly hacked to death on Friday, as many as eight suspects were detained in connection with the case.
The development was confirmed by Chennai Additional Commissioner (North) Asra Garg IPS.
He also said those detained were being thoroughly interrogated to ascertain the motive behind the murder.
Meanwhile, a CCTV footage showing the murder accused fleeing the spot after killing Armstrong has surfaced.
Armstrong was hacked to death by six unidentified people near his residence in Chennai's Perambur area.
Initial reports claimed that an unidentified group of bike-borne men attacked Armstrong with knives, leaving him fatally injured on the road.
Following the attack, Armstrong was rushed to a private hospital in the city, where he was declared dead.
The body of the politician was shifted to Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital for postmortem.
Commenting on the incident, Chief Minister MK Stalin offered condolences and said he had ordered the police officers to bring the culprits to justice.
"Bahujan Samaj Party state president Armstrong's assassination is shocking and deeply saddening. The police have arrested those involved in the murder. I would like to convey my deepest condolences to all of Armstrong's party, family, relatives and friends who are bereaved, and I have ordered the police officers to conduct the case expeditiously and bring the culprits to justice as per the law," a rough translation of Stalin's tweet in regional language suggested.
In an X post, BJP leader Amit Malviya slammed the Congress party over the incident and said it is dependent on MK Stalin's party, DMK, for its relevance in the state.
"Tamilnadu BSP chief, a Dalit, is hacked to death. Expect Third Time Fail Rahul Gandhi to maintain radio silence, just like the hooch tragedy, because the Congress depends on the DMK for its relevance in TN. This kind of perverse politics is the ugly face of Balak Buddhi..." (sic), he wrote.
