Breakthrough in POCSO Act case against granite baron Veeramani after police identify survivor

In a major breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into the sexual abuse of a minor by leading granite trader R Veeramani, the Chennai police have identified the survivor and recorded her statement.

According to police sources, a special team investigating the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) conducted extensive investigations and managed to reach the survivors. Her statement was recorded and presented to the Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The case involves Veeramani, chairman of the Gem group of companies, and Gem Granites. He was presented as the main accused on the basis of a video that allegedly showed him sexually abusing a minor. Veeramani and his associates Shanti and her husband Mahendra Simhan were arrested.

“We have identified the victim who was a minor when she was sexually abused by Veeramani in 2019. She has given a statement confirming her identity and that of the accused person,” a senior police officer told ‘The Hindu’.

Since the girl belongs to the Scheduled Caste community, investigators have included provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in the POCSO case, said the official, who did not want to be quoted.

The police claimed that multiple minor girls were being exploited by the accused over a period of time and efforts were being made to identify them and record their statements. The victims were poor girls whose education was financed by Veeramani or his associates. Shanti and Mahendra Simhan were accused of tampering with evidence.

Investigators were also probing a message he sent to Shanti Veeramani, where he asked him if he remembered the death of a minor a few years ago, sources said.

The anti-deputy squad of the city police registered the case in October last year after an unknown person handed over a storage device that contained a video allegedly of Veeramani sexually abusing a minor.

However, according to sources, the police sought to drop further action in the case, saying the victim could not be identified and no other evidence was found to further corroborate the allegations. No CCTV footage was obtained to confirm the movements of the accused person or the victim at or around the crime scene.

Although Veeramani and Shanti were investigated by the police earlier, they denied the allegations. After the court refused to accept the closure report and ordered further investigation, the matter was reopened recently, leading to the arrest of the trio, police sources said.

Published – 17 Sep 2026 0:34 IST