Tamil Nadu Police have taken up the investigation into granite businessman R Veeramani, conducting searches at five locations linked to the businessman and his associates. The searches were conducted on September 23 as investigators continued investigating allegations of sexual offences against minors under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The searches were carried out by the Anti-Vice Squad of the Central Crime Branch at Veeramani’s offices and residence, as well as premises linked to another businessman, police said. During the operation, mobile phones, physical documents and other digital material were seized, they said. Police said the recovered material would be reviewed in the course of the investigation.
The new action comes two days after police arrested a former employee of Veeramani’s company, Ganesan. Police claim Ganesan had possession of a video related to the case and had not reported it to authorities. After his arrest and interrogation, investigators said information that he gave them led investigators to search for more than a dozen properties associated with the case.
The case came to the attention of police in 2025 after an NGO volunteer filed a complaint with a pen drive containing video material depicting sexual abuse of a young girl. Police identified Veeramani as a person in the video. Veeramani has denied that he is the man shown in the video, an investigation on the case has found.
Veeramani, who heads GEM Group and GEM Granites, was arrested on August 29 along with associates Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan. Police have alleged that several minor girls were taken to a residence in Chennai and that offences were committed there. The accused have been booked under provisions of the POCSO Act and other applicable laws.
The investigation has since expanded and police have found more survivors and recorded testimony for the court. Investigators have said that some of those who have come forward were minors at the time of the alleged crimes. Many of the alleged survivors came from economically disadvantaged families, the police have also reported. In one case, provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were invoked after investigators found that one survivor belongs to a Scheduled Caste community.
The case had already gone through a major legal battle when investigators sought to close the investigation. A special POCSO court rejected the closure request and directed that the investigation continue. More investigations were conducted and new witnesses and survivors were found.
Police are also investigating whether there were attempts to suppress information or interfere with the investigation. They are investigating financial transactions and even land transfers between people connected to the businessman, in order to check if any of them were intended to impede the investigation. All these remain open and no conclusion has been drawn by a court, they say.
The latest searches therefore represent another step in a case that has grown considerably since the original complaint was registered in 2025. Digital evidence, documents, financial records and witness statements are being analyzed in an attempt to establish how the allegations were made and whether other people were involved.
The Central Crime Branch will continue to question suspects and examine evidence seized in the searches. Police have also been calling people who may have information relevant to the case. There is still an investigation and allegations against Veeramani and the other accused have not been proven to date by a court.
