Ex-Gem Granites Staffer Arrested as Veeramani Child Abuse Probe Widens

The investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of minor girls by granite businessman R Veeramani has widened, with Chennai Police arresting a former employee who allegedly had a video connected to the case in his possession and did not report it.

The man, Ganeshan, spent 23 years with Veeramani's Gem Granites group before moving to another company. He was taken into custody by the Central Crime Branch. Investigators claim a video recovered from his mobile phone showed a man resembling Veeramani in an obscene act involving a minor girl.

Police are now trying to establish how Ganeshan came by the video, who passed it to him, and why he chose not to alert the authorities.

Veeramani was arrested earlier along with Shanthi and her husband Mahendra Simhan. According to the police, the couple helped run a house rented by Veeramani in Teynampet, where minor girls were allegedly brought.

The scope of the probe has grown, with investigators stating that at least nine women have come forward to say they were sexually abused as minors. Their statements are being recorded before a special POCSO court. Police are also examining whether the alleged abuse continued over a period of years.

The matter surfaced after a pen drive said to contain video evidence came to light last year and an FIR was registered. Questions have since been raised about why Veeramani was not arrested at that point.

Government sources say Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has instructed the police to speed up the investigation, safeguard the survivors and look into whether the case was delayed or suppressed.

Investigators are separately examining an alleged financial trail of ₹90 crore, scanning property and bank transactions and whether money was paid to police personnel or to the families of survivors to influence how the case was handled.

Political row

The case has set off a confrontation between the ruling TVK and the DMK.

Tamil Nadu Law Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar accused the previous DMK government of not arresting Veeramani despite the FIR and the video evidence. Challenging former DMK Law Minister S Regupathy's contention that the video was unclear, he asked who had told Regupathy that the footage of the perpetrator was not clear and who had prompted him to describe it as a shadow, and why Veeramani was not arrested then.

Nirmal Kumar also questioned whether a "power centre" within the DMK had intervened, alleging that information about the case must have reached the then Chief Minister. He said the investigation under the TVK government would move swiftly and that "none, however big, will be spared."

Regupathy rejected the allegations, saying the DMK had no links with Veeramani and noting that an FIR was filed during the party's tenure. He said the case was not closed but the investigation was deferred to gather stronger evidence, maintaining that the video on the pen drive did not clearly identify the alleged perpetrator. He also asked why the present government took 25 days to act and accused it of leaking details of the POCSO investigation.

Kanimozhi seeks stringent action

DMK parliamentary party leader and MP M K Kanimozhi said it was shocking that people considered socially respectable could allegedly be involved in crimes against children. She stressed that those responsible, whatever their position, must face stringent legal action.

"Those who committed the wrongdoing and those who abetted it must both be brought before the law," she said, adding that the investigation must also ensure no child is subjected to such abuse in the future.

Veeramani's family and his legal team have not responded publicly so far to the latest allegations.