In the high-profile POCSO case involving well-known granite businessman R Veeramani, 85, the Central Crime Branch has learned that more minor victims may have been subjected to sexual harassment before 2003 or even earlier, police said on Saturday.
Statements from additional victims have been recorded before the Special Court for POCSO Cases under the Madras High Court, police added.
A senior police official, who declined to disclose the number of additional victims, said investigators suspected that the systemic sexual exploitation of young girls from impoverished backgrounds may have spanned more than two decades.
Providing details of the ongoing investigation, the senior officer said a retrieved text message sent by a co-accused to Veeramani directly referred to a 2003 incident involving the alleged suicide of a minor girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by him.
"This evidence led the probe team to suspect that the abuse spans over two decades or more", he added.
According to the case history, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) registered the original FIR in 2025 after receiving a USB drive containing footage of a minor girl being "sexually assaulted" at a guest house in Teynampet in the city.
The primary survivor in the 2019 video clip was established to have been a minor at the time of the alleged offence.
However, after police attempted to file a closure report citing an inability to identify the victim, the Special POCSO Court rejected it and ordered a reinvestigation.
Subsequently, police efforts led to the identification of multiple survivors who were minors at the time of the alleged offences, and their statements were recorded before the court.
All three accused -- Veeramani and two accomplices -- face charges under sections of the POCSO Act, besides the Information Technology Act.
Provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were subsequently added after it was established that one survivor belongs to an SC community, enabling government-mandated financial assistance and statutory relief.
Citing Veeramani's advanced age and medical condition, the court directed investigators to conduct all questioning inside the Puzhal Prison complex.
The interrogation, led by senior police officials, was being video-recorded and was to conclude after the custody period.
(With inputs from PTI)