Former Chennai police chief Arun quizzed in Veeramani POCSO case

The Tamil Nadu police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the allegations of sexual abuse of minor girls involving Gem Granites chairman R Veeramani, has questioned former Greater Chennai Police Commissioner A Arun, and other senior police officers over their handling of the case.

Arun, an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) rank officer, who was recently placed on compulsory wait without being given a designated post, was questioned for more than three hours on October 9.

According to police sources, the questioning took place at a location outside the SIT office, and investigators posed over 100 questions to him and recorded Arun’s responses in writing as they sought details about how the allegations against Veeramani were handled.

According to reports, Inspectors General of Police N Kannan, who served as Additional Commissioner of Police, South, and A Radhika, who served as Additional Commissioner of Police, Central Crime Branch, have also been examined by the SIT.

Arun and Kannan were placed on compulsory wait last month after reports emerged that allegations against Veeramani had been brought to the attention of senior police officials as early as November 2024. 

Kannan was serving as Coimbatore City Police Commissioner and Arun was the Director of Tamil Nadu Police Academy before being moved out of the post.

Complaint in November 2024

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee’s Scheduled Caste wing president MP Ranjan Kumar had said that he submitted a complaint to Kannan in November 2024, alleging that Veeramani and his associate Shanthi were exploiting minor girls. He had sought action against them and alleged that no First Information Report (FIR) was registered on the basis of his complaint.

The case later came under scrutiny after a child rights activist submitted a pen drive containing a video purportedly showing the sexual assault of a minor girl to the Anti-Vice Squad of the Chennai police in October 2025.

The police subsequently filed a closure report dated February 2026. However, a special POCSO court refused to close the case and directed the police to conduct further investigation.

The Tamil Nadu government later constituted an all-woman SIT to investigate the allegations of sexual offences against minors and related matters.

Seventh POCSO case against Veeramani

The Greater Chennai Police on Monday, October 12, registered a seventh case against Veeramani under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to reports, the latest case was registered following a complaint from a survivor who alleged that Veeramani had sexually abused her when she was a minor, a few years ago.

Veeramani, 84, was arrested on August 29 in connection with an earlier case involving alleged sexual offences against a minor. His alleged associates Shanthi and her husband, Mahendra Simhan, were also arrested in that case. 

With the registration of the latest case, the police are investigating the alleged sexual exploitation of 10 minor girls across seven POCSO cases against the octogenarian businessman. 

Veeramani has also been booked in a case of abetment of suicide involving a minor in 2004.