The Madras High Court on Sunday said the burial of BSP Tamil Nadu chief K Armstrong can be done in other locations identified by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and said a Hathras stampede-like situation should be avoided. The court made the observation while hearing a plea seeking to bury Armstrong at the BSP office in the Perambur area of Chennai. Armstrong was killed on Friday by unidentified men near his residence in Chennai with CCTV footage capturing the incident. Eight suspects were arrested in connection with the murder.
During the hearing, the Additional Advocate General said the civic body authorities had identified three places for burial and stressed that one of them was just a kilometre-an-a-half from the BSP office. According to the Additional Advocate General, the GCC was ready to give over 2,000 square feet of land for the burial. He also cited late actor-politician Vijayakanth’s burial, saying it was done in 27,000 square feet of land and that permission on the same was given. On this, Justice V Bhavani Subbarayan questioned how a burial could take place in a residential area. She said that such a situation like that of the Hathras stampede tragedy should not occur in Perambur as the roads are very narrow. Justice Subbarayan said Armstrong’s body could be buried in a place suggested by the GCC and moved to a better location later on. The hearing into the case was adjourned till 12 pm today as the petitioner’s counsel sought time to get instructions about different sites for burial.
