Chennai: An all-woman Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up to probe the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case against GEM Granites chairman R. Veeramani on the orders of the Tamil Nadu government. The SIT will probe the case under the supervision of the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner, who has been directed to provide the necessary manpower and logistical support.
Director-General of Police Dr Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal constituted the four-member SIT to investigate the POCSO case registered by the Central Crime Branch of the Greater Chennai Police.
The team is headed by P.C. Thenmozhi, Additional Commissioner of Police, Central Crime Branch. Members include Disha Mittal, Joint Commissioner of Police Law and Order, West, J. Mutharasi, Superintendent of Police and Media Relations Officer in the DGP’s office and V.V. Geethanjali, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Against Women and Children.
The Veeramani case has been a burning issue in Tamil Nadu politics, with Chief Minister Vijay’s TVK accusing the DMK of protecting the accused when it was in power. CM Vijay, while campaigning for the Madurantakam bypoll Friday, once again called the DMK an “evil force” and accused the previous M K Stalin-led government of burying the POCSO case against the granite baron after a complaint was lodged during its tenure. He challenged Stalin saying “open your mouth”, and questioned whether there was any political or family pressure to protect the accused and an attempt.
After similar statements were made by TVK leaders against DMK, Stalin had Thursday issued a statement that it was utterly condemnable to spread slander against the DMK.
“No order has been issued in the DMK regime to protect anyone in the Veeramani case. In cases of crimes against women and minor girls, perpetrators have been arrested without bias, chargesheets filed, and punishment was granted. All these are undeniable facts in the public domain. There has been no need for the DMK regime to protect anyone,” he wrote on X.
Madras HC’s warning
Meanwhile, after some videos purportedly related to the case were circulated by a few media houses on Thursday, the Madras High Court directed the media and digital platforms to not disclose any information related to the POCSO case other than what is officially shared by the SIT through press statements.
The court has restrained media outlets and digital platforms from publishing or broadcasting any video or other material related to the case that could touch upon the investigation or risk identifying victims. On Friday, Justice V. Lakshminarayanan observed that premature circulation of such material could have a chilling effect on other victims and urged sensitivity, saying there is “something more important in life than TRP ratings”.
The court directed the newly formed SIT to issue a press release once a week so the public remains informed of the progress of the probe through official channels only.
Earlier on Thursday, the Greater Chennai Police also stated that certain photographs/clips of a minor girl have been shared by media outlets as well as a few social media handles.
“Sharing any such pictures of a minor is a criminal offence. Disclosure of any such picture or identity of a minor child is an offence under Section 23(2) of the POCSO Act, 2012 and warrants legal action. Hence it is requested not to share any such information in public. Anyone having evidence related to this case may produce it with Chennai Police,” read the police statement.
The Tamil Nadu government has also placed two senior IPS officers, A. Arun and N. Kannan, on compulsory wait amid an inquiry into the handling of the POCSO case against Veeramani, who was arrested along with two associates on 29 August.
The action against the two IPS officers came amid scrutiny of how the case was handled after a video purportedly showing the sexual assault of a minor girl was submitted to the Anti-Vice Squad in 2025. According to a government order, A. Arun, Additional Director General of Police and Director of the Tamil Nadu Police Academy at Oonamanchery, and N. Kannan, Inspector General of Police and Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, were placed on compulsory wait with immediate effect.
Rajeev Kumar, DGP (Training), was given full additional charge of the police academy, while IG R.V. Ramya Bharathi was given additional charge as Coimbatore City Police Commissioner. The police cited administrative reasons to put Assistant Commissioner of Police from Koyambedu range Yasmin, on vacancy reserve.
IPS A. Arun was the Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai Police in November 2024, while N. Kannan was the Additional Commissioner of Police (South), Additional Commissioner of Police, Law and Order during the period. Reports of a complaint being raised about the case in 2024 itself have also surfaced, however, a formal complaint was submitted only in October 2025 when a child rights activist handed over a pen drive containing the video of the alleged sexual assault to the police.
Police initially sought to close the case, citing their inability to identify or locate the girl. However, a special POCSO court rejected the closure report and ordered further investigation, leading to the identification of the survivor who was 12 at the time of the alleged 2019 incident and multiple other alleged victims, and that led to eventual arrests.
Veeramani was arrested on 29 August along with associates Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan. A former employee, Ganesan, was later arrested in connection with possession of related video material. The probe has since widened, with police examining the role of other associates and financial transactions. The bail pleas of two associates remain pending, with the court seeking a detailed police response.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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