Proactive judge saved case from silent burial: APP Arun Anbumani

CHENNAI: The Additional Public Prosecutor Arun Anbumani told the Madras High Court on Tuesday that the State government came to know about the child sexual assault case involving granite baron Gem Veeramani only after a special court judge ordered further investigation and not through media reports.

Appearing before Justice V Lakshminarayanan, the APP said the judge's order led to immediate government intervention and the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.

"The judge deserves credit. But for her, this would have been given a silent burial, and nobody would have known about it. We immediately swung into action," he said.

The submission was made during the hearing of a petition filed by Tulir Charitable Trust, represented by its managing trustee Vidya Reddy. The NGO has approached the High Court seeking directions to the Commissioner of Police to prevent further circulation of a video allegedly containing Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM), besides protecting the identity and privacy of the victims.

The petitioner has also sought directions to identify and remove the video, screenshots, clips and other derivatives, prevent their further publication or circulation, preserve relevant electronic evidence and ensure that no information identifying the victims is disclosed.

The APP said that after the SIT took over the investigation, it had registered four FIRs. He further submitted that the police were probing certain other angles in the case.

The investigation also led to more victims coming forward, he said. Three more victims have lodged complaints so far following the SIT's intervention. Their identities were not disclosed.

The APP said the latest press release on the investigation was issued on October 5 and submitted that the probe was proceeding in the right direction.