States » SouthPosted at: Oct 1 2026 5:33PM


POCSO case accused Granite-baron Veeramani, 2 aides detained under Goondas Act

Chennai, Oct 1 (UNI) Paedophile accused and Granite-baron R.Veeramani, and two of his aides, who were arrested under POCSO Act
were on Thursday detained under the Goondas Act.
While the tainted bizman was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting several juvenile girls over the years, two of his acquaintances Shanthi and her husband Mahendra Simkan, were arrested on charges of abetment and all the three were detained under the Goondas Act.
The orders detaining the trio under the Goondas Act was issued by Greater Chennai City Police Commissioner A.Amalraj following which he was formally detained at the Puzhal Central prison, where they were lodged under judicial remand.
As per the provisions of Goondas Act, the accused could not get bail for one year from the date of detention and could get relief only through the court.
The Commissioner also ordered detention of 11 other arrested accused, who were facing various criminal charges, under the Goondas Act, a release from the police commissioner's office said.
Veeramani was arrested on August 29 after the POCSO court rejected the closure report and ordered to probe the matter based on the
FIR registered in October 2025. Cases were registered against Veeramani and others under Secs 7,8,15(1), and 21(1) of the POCSO
Act, Sections 354(A), 354(C), 201, and 120(B) of IPC and Sections 66(E), and 67(B) of the IT Act.
Police have so far arrested four people, including the tainted bizman, his acquaintance Shanthi and her husband Mahendra Simkan and Veeramani's long time former staffer Ganesan, from whom police have recovered videos puroportedly containing the inappropriate acts of the industrialist. He was arrested for not sharing the videos to the investigating authorities and also to ascertain the source from which he had received it.
All the four were in judicial remand and the High Court has reserved its orders on the bail plea of the arrested couple. As the probe by
the CCB police unravelled several startling revelations including huge money trial running to crores of rupees and the involvement of
top police officials and also some affluent and influential persons, the Tamil Nadu Government constituted an all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT) which has now taken up the investigation.
In a latest update on the probe, police today evening said so far four POCSO cases were registered against Veeramani and was booked
for abetting the suicide of a minor, who was also subjected to sexual assault by the industrialist, ten years back. The case was registered on a complaint from the victim's mother.
The Madras High Court also refused to order a CBI probe on a plea and said the SIT should be given some breathing time to investigate the case.
The SIT, comprising four women police officers was headed by Inspector General of Police P.C.Thenmozhi and included Additional Commissioner of the CCB, Joint Commissioner Disha Mittal and Superintendents of Police Mutharasi and Geethanjali.
The SIT will function under the direct supervision of the Greater Chennai City Police Commissioner A.Amalraj, according to the order issued by Director General of Police and Head of Police Force Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal.
The case surfaced as early as in October last year during the previous DMK regime when a member of the Child Rights Activist Group handed over a video in which the octogenarian bizman was seen indulging in sexual misconduct with a minor girl. After registering a FIR, the probe did not proceed further as the police could not trace the identity of the victim and also filed a closure report before the POCSO court. However, the Judge rejected it and directed further investigation into the case.
Armed with the POCSO court order, the fresh probe by the new TVK government headed by Chief Minister Vijay, who had directed the police not to spare anyone, whomsoever it may be, found to the involved in the case, subsequently led to the identification of more alleged survivors and fresh evidences.
After recording the evidences of survivors in Court's presence, thee CCB police arrested Veeramani, his acquaintance Shanthi and her husband Mahendra Simhan. The bizman's close associate and former employee of Gem Granites, Ganesan was the latest to land in the police net after the police found videos and other materials in his mobile phone pertaining to the obscene acts of Veeramani, which he
had failed to disclose to the investigators.
Investigators are examining whether other persons were involved and whether the alleged offences extended over a longer period by taking the arrested couple in their custody.
Apart from unravelling huge sums of money trail, running to more than Rs 50 crores allegedly to shield the industrialist, the investigation has also raised questions about the role of top police officers who handled the earlier complaint. A son of a prominent SRMU identified as Prakash, was said to have acted as the conduit in settling the financial deals. CCB police have issued summons against him, but he was said to be staying abroad.
Cracking the whip, the government has shunted out three key police officers. While former Chennai Police Commissioner A.Arun, now ADGP TN Police Academy Director and former Chennai City Joint Commissioner and present Coimbatore City Police Commissioner N.Kannan, who were at the helm of affairs when the first complaint was registered, were put on compulsory wait, Chennai City Assistant Commissioner Ms.M.A.Yasmin, who was the first IO, was kept under Vacancy Reserve.
As more complaints surfaced, police have slapped more POCSO cases on him and also booked him for abetting the suicide of a minor girl. The case was booked after her mother lodged a complaint that her daughter was subjected to sexual assault by the Gem Granites owner following which she committed suicide ten years back and that no action was taken on her complaint by the police.
UNI GV 1725
Tags: #POCSO case accused Granite-baron Veeramani# 2 aides detained under Goondas Act
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