Breakthrough in POCSO Act case against granite baron Veeramani after police identify survivor
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In a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation relating to the sexual abuse of a minor by leading granite businessman R Veeramani, the Chennai Police have identified the survivor and recorded her statement.
According to police sources, a special team investigating the case booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act made extensive enquiries and managed to reach the survivor. Her statement was recorded and submitted to a Judicial Magistrate on Wednesday.
The case involves Veeramani, chairman, Gem group of companies, and Gem Granites. He was arraigned as the main accused on the basis of a video which allegedly showed him sexually abusing a minor. Veeramani and his associates Shanti and her husband Mahendra Simhan were arrested.
“We have identified the victim who was a minor when she was sexually exploited by Veeramani in 2019. She has given a statement confirming her identity and that of the accused person,” a senior police officer told ‘The Hindu’.
Since the girl belongs to a Scheduled Caste community, investigators have included provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, in the POCSO case, the official who requested not to be quoted said.
Police claimed more minor girls were exploited by the accused over a period of time and efforts were on identify them and record their statements. The victims were poor girl children whose education was funded by Veeramani or his associates. Shanti and Mahendra Simhan were attested on charges of tampering with evidence.
Investigators were also probing a message sent by Shanti to Veeramani asking him whether he remembered the death of a minor several years ago, the sources said.
The Anti-Vice Squad of the city police registered the case in October last year after an unidentified person passed on a storage device which contained a video allegedly showing Veeramani sexually abusing a minor.
However, the sources said, the police sought to drop further action in the case stating the victim could not be identified and no other evidence was found to corroborate the allegations further. No CCTV footage could be obtained to confirm the movements of the accused person or the victim in or around the scene of crime.
Though Veeramani and Shanti were examined by the police earlier, they denied the allegations. After the court refused to accept the closure report and ordered further investigation, the matter was reopened recently leading to the arrest of the trio, police sources said.
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