A serving Inspector with the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) has been arrested on allegations that he extorted several lakhs of rupees from a share market trader by threatening to implicate him in the July 2024 murder of Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader K. Armstrong. The accused officer, Inspector Muhammed Buhari, was taken into custody after the complainant, Akil Kumar, 35, approached the Chennai City Police headquarters with a formal complaint.

What the Complainant Alleged

Kumar, a share market trader, alleged that Inspector Buhari had repeatedly contacted him over a period of two years, claiming that a mobile phone number associated with Kumar had appeared in the investigation into Armstrong's murder. Kumar maintained that he had no connection to the killing, explaining that he had shared the number in question with a lawyer acquaintance.

According to the complaint, Buhari allegedly leveraged this tenuous link to threaten Kumar with being named as an accused in the high-profile case unless he paid money. The Inspector reportedly made an initial demand of several lakhs and subsequently collected additional amounts on multiple occasions.

The Final Demand and Arrest

The alleged extortion escalated last Saturday when Buhari visited Kumar's residence and demanded ₹5 lakh. According to the complaint, the money was handed over to a policeman near the Washermanpet Metro railway station. Following the formal complaint, senior police officers initiated an inquiry, after which Buhari was arrested. Investigators are now working to determine the full extent of the alleged extortion and whether any other police personnel were involved.

Buhari's Background in the Armstrong Case

Inspector Buhari had previously played a prominent role in operations linked to the Armstrong murder investigation. He was involved in the July 2024 police encounter in which Thiruvenkadam, one of the suspects in the case, was shot dead. In March 2025, Buhari was also involved in another police shooting in which a suspect allegedly linked to a series of chain-snatching incidents in Chennai was killed.

CBI Probe and Broader Context

K. Armstrong, who led the BSP's Tamil Nadu unit, was murdered in Chennai in July 2024, triggering a major police investigation and widespread public attention. The case has since been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is conducting its own probe into the killing. The allegations against Buhari are being investigated separately by the city police and do not directly form part of the CBI inquiry.

This is not the first time a police officer linked to the Armstrong case has faced scrutiny — the investigation has been marked by multiple encounters, suspect deaths, and now, allegations of criminal misconduct by a serving officer. The case is expected to draw further attention as investigators determine whether the alleged extortion was an isolated act or involved a wider network within the force.