CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Police on Thursday constituted a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising senior women police officers, to probe the POCSO Act case against Gem Granites founder R Veeramani and related matters.
The SIT comprises Additional Commissioner of Police, Central Crime Branch, P C Thenmozhi; Joint Commissioner of Police, Law and Order-West, Disha Mittal; Superintendent of Police and Media Relations Officer J Mutharasi; and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Against Women and Children Wing, V V Geethanjali.
The team has been reportedly tasked with examining the allegations in detail, including the handling of evidence and the circumstances surrounding the earlier investigation.
The SIT has been constituted through proceedings issued by Director General of Police/Head of Police Force Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal. The team will function under the supervision of Chennai Police Commissioner A Amalraj, who has been directed to provide the requisite manpower and logistical support for the investigation.
This comes a day after three police officers, including two IPS officers, were shifted from their posts. A Arun was Chennai Police Commissioner, N Kannan was Additional Commissioner of Police, South, and M A Yasmin was Assistant Commissioner of Police, Anti-Vice Squad, when the complaint first reached the Chennai City Police. Arun and Kannan were placed on compulsory wait, while Yasmin was moved to vacancy reserve.
On August 29, Veeramani (84) and his associates M Shanthi (60) and her husband Mahendra Simhan (63) were arrested by the Central Crime Branch, nearly 11 months after the case was registered in October 2025. The case gathered momentum after a special POCSO court rejected the police’s move to close the probe and ordered further investigation.
Ganesan (45), a former employee of Gem Granites, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly possessing a video purportedly showing Veeramani sexually assaulting a minor girl and failing to inform the police about it. He is the fourth person arrested in the case.
The case first came to wider public attention in October 2025 after video footage allegedly showing the abuse of a minor emerged.
According to the allegations, an earlier investigation had moved towards closure on the grounds of insufficient evidence. However, a special POCSO court reportedly rejected the closure report in August 2026 and directed authorities to conduct a fresh and more comprehensive investigation.
The court's intervention has since led to renewed scrutiny of the case and the manner in which the initial investigation was conducted.
Veeramani, along with alleged associates Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan, was arrested on August 29, 2026, as investigators expanded their inquiry.
A long-time employee, identified as Ganeshan, was subsequently arrested in connection with allegations that he withheld critical video evidence. The arrests have added another dimension to the investigation as police examine how evidence was obtained, retained and allegedly concealed. The SIT is also expected to investigate an alleged financial trail involving approximately ₹70 crore and determine whether any payments were connected to efforts to suppress the case.