Chennai, Nov 13:
In a major twist in the sexual assault investigation involving GEM Granites founder R. Veeramani, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has registered a criminal case against seven police officialsâincluding former Chennai Police Commissioner A. Arun IPS, former Additional Commissioner Kannan, and Assistant Commissioner Yasminâfor alleged lapses and mishandling of the initial probe against the industrialist.
The names of the seven officers were included in a comprehensive 720-page chargesheet filed by the SIT before the Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the Madras High Court campus. Submitted within 46 days of the First Information Report (FIR) being registered, the final report cites 40 witnesses and pertains to a case lodged on September 27 following a complaint by a minor survivor’s mother.
According to the police press release, prime accused Veeramani (A1)âcurrently lodged in Puzhal Central Prisonâhas been charged with sexually assaulting the minor girl, while his two car drivers, Parthiban (A2) and Babu (A3), have been arraigned for knowingly transporting and dropping the survivor at Veeramaniâs residence. All three have been booked under relevant provisions of the POCSO Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Constituted on September 24 by the Director General of Police (DGP) under the supervision of the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner to investigate prior complaints and related allegations against Veeramani, the SIT has so far registered seven fresh cases involving nine minor survivors. Eight associatesâincluding a woman named Shanthi, her husband Mahendra Simhan, assistant Ganesan, and manager Sakthivelâhave also been arrested in connection with the network, while the SIT continues its parallel investigation against the seven booked police officials.