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

In a recent development, the Greater Chennai Police have arrested R Veeramani, a prominent granite businessman, and two associates in connection with a POCSO case involving the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl. The case, which was registered nearly 11 months ago, saw investigators initially seeking to close it before a special POCSO court due to challenges in identifying the victim and establishing the timeline of the incident.

However, the court recently rejected the closure report and ordered further investigation, directing the police to complete the probe or report its progress within four weeks. Veeramani, founder of GEM Granites, was arrested by the Central Crime Branch's Anti-Vice Squad along with his associates, Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan, who are alleged to have facilitated the offence.

The three have been produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody. The case came to light on October 6, 2025, when a man handed over a pen drive containing a video purportedly showing an elderly man sexually assaulting a minor girl to a police inspector. Subsequent investigation established that the man in the video was Veeramani, who had rented a house in Teynampet and entrusted its management to Shanthi and Simhan.

Allegedly, several minor girls were brought to the house, and Veeramani committed sexual offences against them. Police have seized a video relating to one alleged offence and seized photographs and other relevant material from the accused's residences and offices. The girl seen in the original video has still not been identified, and investigators have not disclosed the source of the footage or how the unidentified person obtained it.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.