Tamil Nadu’s law minister R. Nirmal Kumar has accused the previous DMK-led state government of shielding Gem Granites chairman R. Veeramani from prosecution in a child sexual abuse case, alleging that officials attempted to broker a monetary settlement rather than pursue charges. Kumar told reporters that police in Chennai were aware of the allegations against the 84-year-old industrialist as far back as 2024 but allowed a closure report citing insufficient evidence to be filed instead of pursuing the case. He argued that any attempt to settle a case involving a minor and large sums of money could not have taken place in the state capital without the knowledge of the home department and intelligence agencies, implying a wider institutional cover-up.
The minister rejected the DMK’s insistence that it had no links to Veeramani, accusing the party of overreacting to the current government’s action against him and of having deliberately protected him while in power. He said Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay would personally supervise a transparent investigation and that anyone found to have shielded Veeramani, accepted money, or destroyed evidence would face legal consequences. The state government has already set up a four-member all-women special investigation team, made up of senior women police officers, to examine both the original POCSO complaint and the fresh allegations of an attempted cover-up; the team reports to the Chennai police commissioner. Veeramani was arrested on August 29 and the Chennai POCSO Special Court has since extended his judicial custody to October 9, rejecting arguments for his release.
The Madras High Court has separately barred media outlets from broadcasting or publishing the sexual assault video connected to the case, citing the dignity of the survivor. The DMK has pushed back forcefully, with its leaders accusing the ruling party of a politically motivated smear campaign and insisting the earlier investigation was kept open pending further evidence rather than deliberately buried. The dispute has become one of the most closely watched political flashpoints in Tamil Nadu, feeding into a broader argument between the state’s rival parties over who bears responsibility for how the case was initially handled. Kumar’s remarks add a new dimension to the affair by explicitly alleging attempted extortion and evidence destruction rather than simple bureaucratic delay, raising the stakes for whichever officials the new SIT ultimately implicates.