'Promised help and sexually assaulted her'; Veeramani caused daughter’s death, alleges woman

CHENNAI: Yet another complaint has been filed against prominent granite businessman R Veeramani, with the mother of a minor girl alleging that her daughter died following sexual assault by him. According to the complaint, Veeramani sexually assaulted the girl after calling her to his house by promising to help her with her studies. The girl later committed suicide in 2016. Although a complaint was lodged with the police, Veeramani used his money and influence to have the case closed, the complaint said.

Police had earlier closed the investigation, stating that the case-related records were destroyed after protesters set fire to the Ice House police station during the Jallikattu protests. However, the woman has alleged that Veeramani's influence was behind the closure of the case. The mother said she found the courage to file the complaint again after Veeramani was arrested in a case involving the alleged sexual assault of around 10 minor girls. R Veeramani, owner of Gem Granites, his associate Mahendra Simhan and Simhan's wife Shanthi were arrested on August 29. The arrests followed after police found that around 10 minor girls had allegedly been sexually assaulted.

The case began in October 2025 after the police received a pen drive containing videos of a minor girl being sexually abused. The investigation established that the person seen in the video was Veeramani. However, the police later filed a report seeking to close the case as they were unable to identify or trace the girl seen in the video. The POCSO court rejected the report and directed the police to continue the investigation. During a subsequent search of the accused's house, police recovered crucial evidence.

Based on the evidence, police identified the girl seen in the video they had initially received. The girl later gave a statement before a magistrate. Following this, Veeramani, his associate Mahendra Simhan and Simhan's wife Shanthi were arrested. More women have since approached the police with complaints against Veeramani as the investigation into the case continues.