More survivors testify against TN granite baron

Chennai: In the high-profile POCSO case involving well-known granite businessman R Veeramani (85), the Central Crime Branch has come to know that more minor victims were subjected to sexual harassment before 2003 or even earlier, police here said on Saturday.

Additional victims’ statements 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 that investigators suspect that the systemic sexual exploitation of young girls from impoverished backgrounds may span more than two decades.

Providing vital information of the ongoing investigation, the senior officer revealed that a retrieved text message sent by a co-accused to Veeramani directly referenced 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 at Teynampet in the city.

The primary survivor from the 2019 video clip was established to be a minor at the time of the offence. However, after police attempted to file a closure report citing an inability to identify the victim, the special POCSO Court rejected it and mandated a reinvestigation.

Subsequently, police efforts led to the identification of multiple survivors, minors at the time of the alleged offenses, whose statements were recorded before the court. All three accused--Veeramani and two of his 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 a 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 will conclude after the custody was over.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India