CHENNAI: Nearly 11 months after registering a case over the alleged sexual abuse of a minor girl at a house in Teynampet, Greater Chennai Police arrested GEM Group chairman R Veeramani and two others, who allegedly facilitated the offence, on Saturday.
The Anti-Trafficking Cell of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested the 85-year-old industrialist – founder of GEM Granites, an established granite export firm – along with Shanthi (60) and her husband, Mahendra Simhan (63). According to police, the suspects have been booked under sections 7, 8, 15(1), and 21(1) of the Pocso Act, and section 67 of the IT Act, and remanded in judicial custody. Senior police sources told TNIE that the victim was yet to be identified and that the case has been registered after verifying the veracity of the video.
According to a press note from the police, the origin of the case dated back to October 6, 2025, when a person approached the Anti-Trafficking Cell with information about a USB drive containing videos purportedly showing a minor girl being sexually assaulted. The complainant told the police that an unidentified man had visited his office earlier that day and handed over the flash drive, alleging that the video purportedly showed Veeramani sexually assaulting the girl at a residence associated with Shanthi.
After examining the footage, the CCB registered a case on October 7. Police said their subsequent investigation identified Veeramani as the suspect in the video. According to police, Veeramani had rented a house in Teynampet and entrusted its day-to-day management to Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan. Police claimed that, in several instances, minor girls were brought to the premises and sexually abused, and that the couple assisted Veeramani and helped conceal the offences.
Police said they have secured video footage relating to the alleged abuse of one minor girl. Searches at the residences and offices of the suspects also led to the seizure of photographs of other minor girls and women. Investigators are examining the material to ascertain whether there were other victims and whether additional offences had taken place. The police have not disclosed how the person who handed over the USB drive obtained the footage or the one who recorded it.
When asked about the 11-month delay in the arrests, a senior police official attributed it to the attempts to trace the victims. Further investigation is under way to establish the full extent of the alleged offences, identify victims, and determine whether more persons were involved, the police added.