The Greater Chennai Police (GCP) have filed a counter affidavit before a Special Court for POCSO cases in Chennai, opposing the bail pleas of Shanthi and her husband, Mahendra Simhan, co-accused in the serial child sexual abuse case allegedly involving Gem Granites proprietor R. Veeramani.
The police said the accused were likely to abscond or evade the investigation and trial if released on bail.
According to the police, on October 6, 2025, the Immoral Traffic Prevention Unit of the Central Crime Branch, GCP, received a letter and a pen drive containing information about a video purportedly showing an elderly man physically abusing a girl at a house. The man in the video was later identified as the prime accused, Veeramani, and the crime location as Shanthi’s residence.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Sections 7 and 8 of the POCSO Act, 2012. After an investigation, Veeramani was booked for offences such as penetrative sexual assault, while Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan were charged with abetment. All three were arrested on August 29 and remanded in judicial custody.
The police allege that the octogenarian industrialist had sexually assaulted several minor girls, and that the victims’ statements had been recorded under relevant provisions of law.
The case was subsequently altered and additional charges were invoked. The case was subsequently altered and additional charges were invoked. While the Special Court on Friday extended Veeramani’s remand until October 9, Shanthi and Mahendra were granted three days of custodial interrogation.
Meanwhile, the police opposed the bail petitions filed by the couple. In the counter, the police said Veeramani committed the crime at Shanthi’s house and she had allegedly attempted to destroy evidence and screen the offender. They also alleged that she had access to Veeramani’s bank accounts and was involved in financial transactions.
According to the counter, ₹24.63 crore was transferred from Veeramani’s bank account to Shanthi’s, followed by ₹2 crore from her account to another allegedly maintained by Mahendra Simhan. The prosecution alleged that the accused were involved in the offences and that the transactions indicated financial links among them.
Electronic devices and other articles seized during the investigation were being examined to determine whether other minor girls were involved.
The couple will be produced before the Special Court on Sunday, after the three-day custodial interrogation.
The Special Investigation Team comprising women officers, constituted by Director-General of Police Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, has sought six Deputy Superintendents of Police from the North Zone, Chennai City, Tambaram Commissionerate, Avadi Commissionerate, and Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts to assist in the investigation. Most of them are likely to be women, sources said.
They said more survivors had come forward to lodge complaints in connection with the case.
The police also recorded the statement of Congress leader M.P. Ranjan, who claimed he had reported the matter to the Chennai police as early as in November 2024. Officers recorded his statement at the Police Commissionerate on Friday, and collected electronic and documentary evidence from him.
