Pocso case: 8th case filed against granite baron Veeramani; LOC against 5 persons

CHENNAI: The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the sexual abuse complaints against Gem Granites Veeramani, has registered one more case against the businessman, based on a complaint from another victim, raising the number of cases against him to eight.

Meanwhile, Look Out Circular (LOC) notices have been issued against five suspects to prevent them from leaving the country, an official release stated.

On Friday, police had detained his daughter, Archana when she attempted to board an international flight. She was questioned about his alleged crimes and the financial transactions that took place to save him from legal action.

Archana was let off later on Friday evening after questioning. She eventually complained of ill health and got admitted to a hospital.

So far, 12 victims have come forward and filed complaints against Veeramani and his associates. The SIT has taken custody of Veeramani and three other associates on Saturday and are questioning them at Peravallur police station, as per court orders.

A week ago, SIT arrested his manager, Sakthivel for aiding him to evade legal action. His role came to light after police teams carried out intensive searches at Veeramani’s house on Lloyds Road, his farmhouse at Kanathur and his office and seized key documents and digital evidence related to the cases.

Before Sakthivel, the SIT had arrested three of his long-time drivers for ferrying minor girls to the houses where they were abused. The arrested persons were identified as Lasar, Parthiban and Babu. Lasar was with Veeramani for 23 years while the two others were employed for eight years.

Another employee, Ganesan was arrested few weeks ago for not alerting the police despite knowing Veeramani’s behaviour.

Veeramani and his associates, Mahendra Simhan (63) and Shanthi (60) have been in prison since August 29. A pendrive with the video was sent to the city police’s ITPU (Immoral Trafficking Prevention Unit) in October 2025 and a case was registered on October 7, 2025.

When a closure report was filed by the city police in February 2026 stating that the video was unclear, it was rejected by the special court judge after which police began investigations again.