Fresh sexual harassment complaint against granite baron Veeramani

CHENNAI: In a fresh development in the ongoing probe against granite baron R Veeramani, who is facing charges of sexually harassing minors, another girl has come forward with a complaint of harassment, police said on Sunday.

Action has been initiated based on the statement of the minor, who was previously a witness in an already registered case, they said.

The case traces back to October 2025 when a child rights activist handed over a pen drive to the Anti-Vice Squad containing a video of a minor being sexually assaulted. A note accompanying the drive alleged that the man in the footage was Veeramani and that the incident occurred at the residence of Mahendra Simhan and Shanthi.

Although the police initially attempted to file a closure report citing an inability to identify the victim, a Special POCSO court judge rejected the move in February 2026 and ordered further investigation.

Following the court's intervention, police recovered the original video during searches and subsequently arrested Veeramani, Shanthi, and Mahendra Simhan in August 2026.

A Special Investigation Team was later constituted to probe the allegations.

The police have now registered a total of eight cases concerning the sexual harassment of minors. Veeramani has been arrested in all eight cases.

The other accused include Shanthi, arrested in three cases, Lazar in five cases, Mahendrasimhan in two cases, and Ganesan in two cases. Srinivasan, Sakthivel, Babu, and Parthiban have been arrested in one case each.

All the accused are currently lodged at the Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai.

During the ongoing investigation, accused driver Lazar was taken into one-day police custody for interrogation. Based on this inquiry, authorities identified a white car used in the crime and initiated subsequent action.

Meanwhile, a POCSO court judge directed the Tamil Nadu government to grant a relief fund of Rs 2 lakh to one of the victims.

Out of the eight registered cases, the police are scheduled to file the final reports for two cases in the coming week.