Condemning the brutal murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu president K. Armstrong, party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati urged the TN government to ensure that the guilty are punished.
Hailing Armstrong as "a strong Dalit voice in the state" she said the incident is "highly deplorable and condemnable."
Armstrong, a former councillor of Chennai Corporation, was hacked by a two-wheeler-borne gang near his house in Perambur in Chennai. Two others also sustained injuries during the attack.
Armstrong died on the way to the hospital as he sustained grievous injuries in the attack.
Workers and supporters of the BSP in Tamil Nadu staged a protest outside Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital where his body has been kept in the mortuary for autopsy, demanding immediate arrest of the accused.
The motive behind the murder
While the exact reasons behind the murder remain unknown, the police have said it could be a revenge killing related to the murder of a gangster, Arcot Suresh, which happened last year.
"We are conducting an investigation. The murder seems to be linked to an earlier killing," NDTV quoted a senior police officer as saying.
The police said eight people have been arrested in connection with the murder.
According to the police, Armstrong was overseeing the construction work of a building at Venugopal Street in Sembium when the attack took place.