Gem Granites POCSO case: 3 former employees arrested for abetment

The Greater Chennai Police have arrested three former drivers of Gem Granites owner R Veeramani. Identified as Lasar, Babu, and Parthiban, they are accused of acting as abettors in the ongoing POCSO Act investigation against the granite magnate.

The Greater Chennai Police has arrested three former employees of Gem Granites owner R Veeramani following alleged abetment in an investigation under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The suspects, identified as drivers Lasar, Babu, and Parthiban, had worked under Veeramani at Gem Granite for several years and were arrested following allegations that they acted as abettors, police said.

SIT Investigation and Seizures

Following the investigations, searches were conducted at the residences of the three men, leading to the seizure of 8 mobile phones and 55 documents. The case initially came to light following the recovery of a pen drive containing videos of sexual offences, which triggered the initial apprehension of Veeramani, following which a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed on the orders of DGP/HoPF, Tamil Nadu, to probe the POCSO cases, police said.

With the registration of a case on October 2, 2026, the total number of active POCSO cases pending against the granite magnate has risen to five. Four cases against Veeramani were pending, and one more case was registered on October 2 2026. During investigation of the five cases, three brokers identified as Lasar, Babu and Parthiban were arrested on October 5 2026, police said. Further investigation is underway.

Goondas Act Invoked

Earlier in October, the Goondas Act was invoked against Gem Granites Owner R Veeramani and two others- Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan- who were arrested in connection with a POCSO case, police said on Thursday. The preventive detention orders against the three were issued by the Chennai City Police Commissioner. Veeramani, Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan were arrested following allegations of sexual offences against minors. The case was subsequently taken up for investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Tamil Nadu Police. The SIT has been probing the allegations against the accused and has also been examining complaints received in connection with the case. The three accused are currently in judicial custody, and further investigation is underway.

Case Origins and Initial Arrests

The case relates to allegations of sexual assault involving minor girls. Police had initially registered the case after receiving a USB drive containing a video allegedly showing a minor girl being sexually assaulted at a guest house in Teynampet. The accused businessman was arrested on August 29 along with two other alleged accused. A POCSO Special Court subsequently granted three days of custody for his interrogation.

Considering his age and health, the questioning was conducted inside Puzhal prison under video recording by the Central Crime Branch's Anti-Vice Squad. Police later identified seven additional minor girls allegedly linked to the case, and their statements were recorded before the Special Court dealing with POCSO cases.

After one survivor was found to belong to a Scheduled Caste community, provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were also added to the case.

Probe Intensified, Special Teams Formed

The Tamil Nadu government directed police to intensify the investigation and identify and take action against everyone found to be connected with the alleged offences. A special team comprising women police Sub-Inspectors has also been formed to identify minor girls appearing in the video and assist in the ongoing probe.

The Central Crime Branch has been examining the earlier investigation and the circumstances surrounding the closure of the case.

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