CHENNAI: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the child sexual abuse allegations against Gem Granites founder R Veeramani has named seven police personnel as accused, police sources said on Thursday. The personnel include former Chennai Police Commissioner A Arun and are accused of lapses in handling an October 2025 case involving the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl.
The officers had earlier served in the Greater Chennai Police. According to reports, they have been booked under Section 21 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which deals with failure to report or record information about a sexual offence against a child, and Sections 199, 235 and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to disobedience of legal directions, false evidence and causing the disappearance of evidence, respectively.
Asked about the officers' names and designations, a police officer declined to give them, saying only that the SIT had filed a report before the Special Court for POCSO Act cases setting out the specific lapses involving each officer.
The development brings the police response itself under scrutiny, months after allegations against Veeramani surfaced. He remains an accused in the case and has not been convicted. The naming of police personnel as accused is also part of the ongoing investigation and does not establish their guilt.
(with inputs from media organisations)