Police bid to close probe rejected, Chennai granite businessman arrested in POCSO case

Nearly 11 months after a case was registered over the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl, the Greater Chennai Police have arrested granite businessman R Veeramani and two associates— months after investigators had sought to close the case before a special POCSO court.

Veeramani, founder of GEM Granites, was recently arrested by the Central Crime Branch’s Anti-Vice Squad along with one Shanthi and her husband, Mahendra Simhan, who, police allege, facilitated the offence. The three were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.

The case came to light on October 6, 2025, when a man approached a police inspector and handed over a pen drive that he said had been given to him by an unidentified person at his workplace. The device contained a video purportedly showing an elderly man sexually assaulting a minor girl.

Police registered a case the following day. Investigators struggled to identify the girl or establish her whereabouts. During the inquiry, police were tipped off about Veeramani and the couple. Veeramani denied that he was the man seen in the footage or that such an incident had occurred at the property linked to the trio.

Police subsequently filed a “further action dropped” report before the special POCSO court, citing, among other things, the inability to identify the girl and digital data indicating that the video dated to 2019. On August 19, however, the special court rejected the closure report and ordered further investigation, directing police to complete the probe or report its progress within four weeks.

Police now say that subsequent investigation established that the man in the video was Veeramani. According to a police statement, he had rented a house in Teynampet and entrusted its management to Shanthi and Simhan. Investigators allege that several minor girls were brought to the house and that Veeramani committed sexual offences against them.

Police said they had seized a video relating to one alleged offence. Searches at the residences and offices of the accused yielded photographs of other minor girls and women and other material considered relevant to the investigation, they added.

The girl seen in the original video has still not been identified, according to police sources. Investigators have also not disclosed who recorded the footage or how the unidentified person, who originally supplied the pen drive, obtained it.

The accused have been booked under Sections 7, 8, 15(1) and 21(1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. Chennai Police Commissioner A Amalraj has directed investigation team to determine whether the minor seen in the video was sexually assaulted by more than one person.

Police are also examining the handling of the case after its registration, and the circumstances in which investigators initially sought to close it. Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express.

Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority.

Expertise Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews.

Key Coverage Areas: State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor.

Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties. Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu.

Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail. His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More