Police have detained eight suspects following the murder of the state leader of India's Bahujan Samaj Party, who was hacked to death.

Police in Chennai, a southern city in India, announced on Saturday that they had successfully apprehended eight suspects in connection with the murder of local political leader K. Armstrong. Armstrong, the Tamil Nadu state leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was brutally attacked with machetes near his residence in Chennai on Friday night. Reports indicated that Armstrong was conversing with friends and supporters when he was ambushed by assailants wielding knives, who fled on motorcycles before assistance could arrive. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Armstrong succumbed to his injuries, authorities confirmed.

According to police, they swiftly identified and arrested the eight suspects "within hours of the incident." Mayawati, the national leader of Armstrong's BSP, expressed condemnation of the attack, labeling it "highly deplorable," and called upon the state government to ensure justice for the perpetrators in a social media post.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin echoed these sentiments, describing Armstrong's assassination as "shocking and deeply saddening," and urged law enforcement to swiftly apprehend and prosecute those responsible. Indian media outlet NDTV cited a senior police official speculating that the murder might be linked to the death of an underworld figure the previous year, though investigations into the motive were ongoing.