Chennai, Sept 25:
A plea seeking the transfer of the investigation into the POCSO case against GEM Granites owner R Veeramani to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was brought before the Madras High Court on Thursday.
Senior counsel N L Raja, appearing for advocate C Rajasekaran, made the submission before a Bench comprising Chief Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan. He said videos connected with the case had surfaced and that senior police officials involved in the earlier investigation had been placed on compulsory wait. He said a petition seeking a CBI probe would be filed and requested that it be taken up as an urgent matter in the afternoon.
The judges observed that a Special Investigation Team had already been constituted to probe the case and said the police could continue their investigation. They said the matter would be taken up if a petition was formally filed.
Meanwhile, advocate Nivya also raised the issue of the circulation of videos related to the case before Justice V Lakshmi Narayanan. The judge said the matter could be taken up in the afternoon if a petition was filed.
Veeramani and two others were arrested by the Central Crime Branch in August in connection with allegations of sexual offences against minor girls. The probe has since widened, with searches at premises linked to Veeramani, the arrest of a former employee and scrutiny of the conduct of police officials who handled the case earlier.